According to one of the participants, there are 600 000 Buddhists in France, and several million sympathisers, which makes Buddhism the third or fourth religion in France.
It is true that, as one of the speakers pointed out, Buddhism is a "path" rather than a religion, since it does not include a belief in God. Nonetheless, there are many points of connection with Judaism and some astonishing similarities have been demonstrated in the realm of mysticism, for example Karma and Gilgul for the notion of the transmigration of souls, Nirvana and "Olam she kulo Shabbat", and the parallel concept of a "chosen people".
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