Paris is burning and along with it several parts of France are engulfed in fire. The extent of violence, looting, attacks on public transports, infrastructure and public anger can be gauged from the fact that over 2,500 cases of arson have been reported from these places during the past few days. All these are due to the mindless killing of a 17-year-old youth, Nahel Merzouk, in broad daylight during a traffic stop by a hate-filled, racist, white police officer in suburban Paris. As is the wont of law enforcing agencies across the globe, the police initially lied and accused the youth of trying to run over an officer. But, social media nailed the lie immediately by circulating a cell phone video from a bystander that showed the horrific, cold-blooded killing by the police officer. By now, people across the globe have seen the horrific images of French police brandishing rifles and menacing the occupants of a yellow vehicle in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre before summarily executing the teenage driver with a bullet to the head as he pulled away. Contrary to false claims by the police, no officer was standing in front of the car or physically threatened by the youth driving away.
The cruel irony the current situation has brought to the fore is that France – which taught the world the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity – has long been infected with the virus of racism. The French teen, Nahel, whose life was taken away by the police, was of Algerian ancestry. France has had a long and sordid history of colonial racism and violence against non-white people, stretching from Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, North and West Africa as well as Vietnam, among many other populations. France has ruthlessly oppressed Algerians in particular – including those who are French citizens. French colonisation of Algeria dates back to the early 1800s and involved the widespread use of brutal violence and mass killings to establish French rule.
That the embers of racism in French society, even centuries later, are still glowing is evident during similar attacks by French police in recent years. This week’s protests echoed the three weeks of rioting in 2005 that followed the deaths of 15-year-old Bouna Traoré and 17-year-old Zyed Benna, who were electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation in Clichy-sous-Bois. Nahel’s mother, identified as Mounia M, spoke the truth with brutal honesty when she said “He (the police officer) saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life. A police officer cannot take his gun and take our children’s lives like that.”
The preliminary investigation by Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache revealed the officer’s use of his weapon was not “legally justified.” The death has prompted demands for more accountability in France, which also saw racial justice protests. No wonder, France’s iconic footballer, himself a “non-white,” Kilyan Mbappe and his co-footballers of the French national team have condemned the killing and appealed to the people for calm and dialogue as they rightly believe violence cannot remedy the racism that the French society is afflicted with. The emergence of Far-Right groups in the political horizon of France has only exacerbated the tension and rift.
What is most unfortunate is that the police force, at least a section of it, which is supposed to remain calm and discharge its duties as prescribed by the country’s constitution, could be so driven by racial hatred. France is officially known to be colour-blind, meaning there cannot be any official discrimination on the basis of the colours of the citizens’ skin.
In the wake of massive protests, French President Emmanuel Macron called the killing of Nahel “inexplicable.” The expression itself shows he is too diplomatic and in a denial mode about the existence of racism in his country. Studies have long demonstrated extensive racial bias in French policing targeting Arab and Black people in particular. In 2020, France’s own human rights ombudsperson found that young men who are racialised as Arab or Black are 20 times more likely to be profiled and stopped by the police.
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has long warned of racial discrimination perpetrated by French police which cannot be allowed to continue with its jaundiced view of the populace while discharging public duties. It is time that France and the whole of ‘white’ Europe takes a firm stand against racism. No doubt this is easier said than done as the coloured migrants too are contributing their major bit in making the situation worse.