Police killing of teen Nahel reopens old wounds for France’s minorities

On the same day that a 17-year-old of North African descent was killed by police outside Paris, teenagers attending a workshop at a youth center in another low-income area of ​​the city said their fate was discrimination. Fresh reminder of. encountered in French society.

“One asked, ‘Since when should driving without a license be punishable by death?’ Others talked about the constant discrimination they faced by the police,” said Nora Hamadi, who has led journalism workshops Sanctions, As the deprived suburbs have been called for the last 15 years.

Many of the participants were black or Arab youths whose parents or grandparents had immigrated from France’s former colonies. He said, “Liberty, equality and fraternity: they know that this proverb does not apply to them.”

The following night, protesters enraged by the death of Nahel, who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre, set fire to the youth center where the workshop was held, and left a charred shell.

Similar incidents of violence have scarred Paris and other towns and cities in the five days since Nahel’s death. viral video, About 250 police stations have been attacked, according to the interior ministry, but health clinics, town halls and libraries, which are considered symbols of the state, have also been attacked.

The government has tried to quell the uprising with a mix of sympathy – President Emmanuel Macron called the shooting “inexplicable and inexcusable” – and a strong security crackdown. About 45,000 police officers have been deployed in recent nights, including brigades with armored vehicles.

In a rare move, one of the officers involved in the shooting has been jailed while preliminary charges of voluntary manslaughter are investigated. He has denied wrongdoing and investigators have not disclosed any racial motivation for the shooting.

But there have also been harsh words, especially from Gérald Darmanin, Macron’s combative interior minister. He said, “It is not the republic that will retreat, but the thugs.”

For many people in France, a deep sense of deja vu Nahel’s death and the starkly different reactions to it underscore deep divisions in society, tensions between youth and the police, and the inability of successive governments to improve conditions despite 40 years of planning. Sanctions,

France has been here before. In 2005, two teenagers, Zayd Benna and Dwarf Traoré, died while fleeing police in Clichy-sous-Bois, leading to three weeks of explosive protests. Once peace was restored, President Jacques Chirac vowed to fight the “poison” of discrimination.

But Chirac’s promises were not fulfilled. A 2017 report found that youth believed to be Arab or black were 20 times more likely to be stopped for an identity check than the rest of the population. The polarization of society has worsened as Marine Le Pen’s far right has reached new heights and public sentiment against immigration has hardened.

Although protests have always played a role in French politics, discontent has grown in recent years as institutions and elections struggle to give them direction. Macron has suffered three episodes since 2017: Gillette’s Jones The populist movement, the protests this year against pension reform, and now the riots and looting linked to Nahel’s death.

Some progress has been made in poorer areas. Transport upgrade has begun to improve connectivity Sanctions, while sports facilities are being built as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Olympic Games. According to the Institut Montaigne, around €50 billion has been spent over 15 years to renovate public housing. Study,

But study author Hakim El Karaoui said investing in infrastructure is not enough. More teachers and police officers are also needed, he said, as well as activities for youth and professional training to work with adults. “A lot of effort has gone into renovating buildings and very little into helping the people who live in them,” he said.

Another complication was that, as the residents of Sanctions After climbing the economic ladder, they move out and are replaced by new immigrants who are poorer, starting the cycle again.

Macron’s critics say his record is particularly weak Sanctions Despite being elected on the promise of greater inclusion and economic opportunity. “Macron has done very little. , , (His government doesn’t even have the authority to diagnose), El Karaoui said.

The challenges can be seen in Clichy-sous-Bois, the center of the 2005 riots, where the poverty rate has stabilized at about three times the national average. Segregation has worsened: 59 percent of residents are immigrants, up from 40 percent in 1990, and three out of four children have non-French parents.

The municipal library, which opened in 2016 as part of a government-funded effort to improve public services, was closed on Saturday after being damaged by fire during this week’s uprising. Burnt cars lie scattered near the parking lot.

“What does it benefit anyone if the library is closed and the kids can’t do their homework?” Housing Minister Olivier Klein, who used to be mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois, said on France Inter radio station.

But he rejected the view that little had changed since 2005 and defended Macron’s actions. “We are doing a lot but resentment persists because things are not moving fast enough and people living in these areas feel discriminated against.”

He argued that ingrained racism, especially against Muslims, means that “as parents, we know that if our children get into trouble, they risk death.”

Malik, who is in his 20s, grew up hearing his elder relatives discussing the 2005 riots. “Everyone is talking about (police violence) now, but nothing changes,” he said.

“This will pass, and you will go home,” he said of the violent scenes that have once again drawn media to his neighborhood. “Why should I bother talking to you?”