Perhaps one of the most disheartening aspects of the recent death of Nahel M, a French teenager from Nanterre, is its unfortunate familiarity. It follows a troubling pattern: an individual of North African descent dies after an encounter with the police, and officers provide misleading or false accounts that shift blame to the victim. Naturally, this sparks outrage and leads to protests and violence.
The unrest witnessed in French cities is not surprising, but rather a reflection of the anger and despair felt by those affected. Not only have police stations become targets, but also schools, cars, tramways, and town halls in cities like Lille, Dijon, Lyon, Toulouse, and the Paris suburbs. In response, President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis cabinet meeting and deployed 40,000 officers across the country.
However, there is a noticeable contrast with the events of 2005, when riots erupted for three weeks after the electrocution of two teenagers who were hiding from the police. The then interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, made remarks suggesting that the victims were thieves, which only heightened tensions. This time, President Macron has labeled the incident “inexplicable and inexcusable,” and the officer responsible is under investigation for manslaughter. The key difference is that these events were captured on phone cameras and shared on social media, debunking the claim that the 17-year-old drove directly at the police. The footage shows two officers standing beside the stationary vehicle, with one pointing a gun at the driver, while threatening words are heard. The officer then seemingly fires as the car moves forward.
For those living in the banlieues, the footage is not surprising but rather confirmation of their deep-seated anger. This anger stems not only from the case of Nahel M, but also from the incidents involving Adama Traoré, who suffocated in police custody in 2016, and Jean-Paul Benjamin, a father-of-two shot dead last year. These cases hold significant weight because French law does not permit the collection of data based on ethnicity, making it difficult to expose discrimination through official channels. Similar to the experiences in other countries, the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired activism and empowered people to raise their voices. However, they continue to go unheard.
There are specific concerns regarding legal changes implemented six years ago that critics warned would expand the scope of police firearm use. In 2022 alone, a record-breaking 13 people died after failing to comply with a traffic stop. Nevertheless, the broader issue centers around aggressive policing techniques that were historically employed to control subject populations in colonies like Algeria and have been imported back into the homeland. These techniques manifest not only in incidents involving civil unrest, such as protests over pensions or the gilets jaunes movement, but they are particularly toxic and lethal within the context of institutional racism, racial profiling, and personal prejudices.
Unlike previous instances of unrest, economic grievances seem to play a lesser role in this situation. The anger primarily stems from a sense of being ignored, excluded, and discriminated against. Kylian Mbappé, the wealthy French football star who grew up in the suburbs, expressed his pain for his country in a tweet. This anger extends beyond the police and encompasses other state institutions.
Many individuals in the banlieues fear for the safety of their children at the hands of the police and the potential repercussions of the ongoing unrest. Additionally, they are concerned about the exploitation of these events by Marine Le Pen and the far-right. What they understand is that change is necessary, and it should not require another death, the circulation of smartphone footage, or mass protests to bring it about.
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