Unrest lays bare polarisation of French society on issues involving ethnic minorities
05 July 2023 - 15:51
by Agency Staff
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A firefighter works to extinguish burning vehicles during clashes between protesters and police, after the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer during a traffic stop, in Nanterre, Paris on June 28 2023. Picture: REUTERS/STEPHANIE LECOCQ
Paris — French police arrested 16 people overnight in connection with urban violence, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, indicating a further decrease in unrest that swept through poor French suburbs after a fatal police shooting last week.
The death on June 27 of Nahel M., a teenager of North African descent, after he was shot by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, caused an outpouring of rage that led to nights of nationwide rioting and a police crackdown.
At the height of the unrest on Friday night police arrested more than 1,300 people. The situation began to calm down on Sunday, and on Monday night police arrested 81 people, according to the ministry.
The riots laid bare the polarisation of French society on issues such as integration, or lack of it, of ethnic and religious minorities, and on how the values of the republic should be understood in contemporary France.
The government and political right denounced the rioters and backed the police with little sign of willingness to engage with complaints that the police discriminate against minorities and can be violent.
In contrast, left-wing parties and many citizens highlighted the racism and marginalisation experienced by generations of French youths of immigrant descent in the poor suburbs and the issue of police violence and impunity.
The police officer who shot Nahel is in custody facing a charge of voluntary homicide. A crowdfunding campaign launched by right-winger Jean Messiha to raise money for the cop’s family received €1.6m in donations, exceeding funds raised for Nahel’s family.
Messiha shut down his GoFundMe appeal for the officer’s family late on Tuesday after a barrage of complaints and threats of legal action from left-wing parties and Nahel’s family, TV channel BFM reported.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin, a law-and-order hardliner, was due to answer a senate committee’s questions on the unrest on Wednesday afternoon.
The minister overseeing small and medium companies, Olivia Gregoire, told TV channel France 2 earlier that more than 1,000 shops and businesses were affected by the rioting and vandalism.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
French rioting subsides
Unrest lays bare polarisation of French society on issues involving ethnic minorities
Paris — French police arrested 16 people overnight in connection with urban violence, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, indicating a further decrease in unrest that swept through poor French suburbs after a fatal police shooting last week.
The death on June 27 of Nahel M., a teenager of North African descent, after he was shot by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, caused an outpouring of rage that led to nights of nationwide rioting and a police crackdown.
At the height of the unrest on Friday night police arrested more than 1,300 people. The situation began to calm down on Sunday, and on Monday night police arrested 81 people, according to the ministry.
The riots laid bare the polarisation of French society on issues such as integration, or lack of it, of ethnic and religious minorities, and on how the values of the republic should be understood in contemporary France.
The government and political right denounced the rioters and backed the police with little sign of willingness to engage with complaints that the police discriminate against minorities and can be violent.
In contrast, left-wing parties and many citizens highlighted the racism and marginalisation experienced by generations of French youths of immigrant descent in the poor suburbs and the issue of police violence and impunity.
The police officer who shot Nahel is in custody facing a charge of voluntary homicide. A crowdfunding campaign launched by right-winger Jean Messiha to raise money for the cop’s family received €1.6m in donations, exceeding funds raised for Nahel’s family.
Messiha shut down his GoFundMe appeal for the officer’s family late on Tuesday after a barrage of complaints and threats of legal action from
left-wing parties and Nahel’s family, TV channel BFM reported.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin, a law-and-order hardliner, was due to answer a senate committee’s questions on the unrest on Wednesday afternoon.
The minister overseeing small and medium companies, Olivia Gregoire, told TV channel France 2 earlier that more than 1,000 shops and businesses were affected by the rioting and vandalism.
Reuters
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