Good morning,
Unrest may have ceased in France, but the anger remains. Following seven nights of riots, chaos and looting triggered by a fatal police shooting and its attempted cover-up, the nation is now trying to pick up the pieces. The dust has settled, but discussions about police brutality, systemic racism and social deprivation will remain in the spotlight. The time has come to recognise the urgent need for reform within the French police. But the events also force France to face a harsh reality: in the suburbs, too many feel that the promise of égalité, which lies at the very heart of France's republican mythology, does not apply to them. And that also needs to change.
In other news this week: The Dutch King apologises for slavery, Luxembourg has a new constitution and a British archipelago expresses its desire to secede from the UK and join Norway.
Editor's note
Nathan Domon
France ・ Opinion |
North African Lives Matter
Melissa Chemam
Calm has come back to France. But it does not mean that the emergency is over. The killing of 17-year-old last week of Nahel Merzouk, a French citizen of Algerian descent, by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre was caught on camera and posted on social networks. Police initially tried to cover it up, but the video depicting the brutal police response went viral and provoked seven nights of violent clashes between police and residents around housing estates in many working-class suburbs of French towns. Images of the violence made headlines in international media. However, the fact that the French government tries to shift the narrative away from police brutality and constant discrimination against young North African and Black men is the main issue to worry about.
Nahel’s mother and grandmother led a mostly peaceful march last week on Thursday in his memory, calling for calm. They reiterated their demands on the day of the funeral on Saturday. Those who marched share a hope for change, not only in the police force but also within France's impoverished suburbs. I myself currently live a stone's throw away from Nanterre, just as I did during my teenage years. This is the town where I passed my final school exams years ago. As someone who shares the same origins as Nahel, I am deeply saddened by the situation here. The residents not only grapple with social deprivation but also have to deal with an excessively violent police force. As journalists, we have a responsibility to help people understand.
Most of the political elite and privileged classes have no direct insight into the issue at hand, and often remain in denial of the state’s responsibility over the past five decades. In fact, most of central Paris largely remained untouched by the protests and violence. Because the city has been increasingly pushing out its working-class residents, low-income workers and those deemed “undesirable” – as the far right in France openly calls them.
Nanterre, Clichy-sous-Bois, Beaumont-sur-Oise, Aulnay-sous-Bois, and so many more have all seen young North African, Caribbean or African young men killed by the police. Few officers have ever been tried or condemned for such crimes. While French media focus on the aftermath of the riots, the real issue is that the French police force, unlike any other police force across Europe, is at war with the youth living in the banlieues. Harassment and discrimination have been repeatedly condemned by a multitude of observers, including organisations like Human Rights Watch and the United Nations.
I do feel that Nahel is our George Floyd. As James Baldwin often said, the Algerians have always been deemed undesirables in France since their land was colonised in 1830. France needs its #NorthAfricanLivesMatter movement. The marches in Nanterre and elsewhere will not be the last, nor were they the first. As early as 1983, people of North African and African descent walked across France to denounce discrimination, poverty, and blatant racism, especially from the police. This event, known as "La Marche des Beurs" (slang for French Arabs), will be commemorated for its 40th anniversary later this year… What a sad celebration.
The marches, like the protests, are only signs of the need for real change in the police and the respect of basic human rights.
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https://www.europeancorrespondent.com/
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