II Ravi Srivastava II
(The author is a strategic security expert)
The French cities of Nanterre, Lille, Marseille, Paris and Lyon have been the scene of major riots since the unfortunate murder of 17-year-old Nahel M of Algerian origin on June 27. The report states that it was a brutal murder by French police officers during a traffic violation. Several unverified video footages are going viral on social media, showing how the police approached the victim’s car with guns drawn and opened fire, while the victim allegedly tried to escape.
Nahal’s murder was presented as a symbol of oppression
Nahel belonged to the French minority community, which has made him a symbol of oppression by the state. The riots that followed mainly targeted schools, government buildings, shops and vehicles. While French officials appealed for calm, the riots continued for the sixth consecutive day. By the last reports these riots also spread to French overseas territories like Reunion Island and French Guiana. French history shows many such occasions, the first being riots in 1979, when an Arab youth was shot dead by a security guard. There were at least five such incidents in the 90s and six more such major instances have come to the fore in the last two decades. The last time French police were blamed for racial abuse was during the detention of a person belonging to a French minority in 2017. The population of France is a mixture of people from all over the world.
About 15% of the French population of 70 million are of foreign origin.
French laws prevent the state from collecting data based on ethnicity. However, some indications suggest that about 15% of the French population of 70 million is of foreign origin. There has been a steady increase in immigrants coming to France, with about 10% of the current population being foreign-born. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) of France’s National Bureau of Statistics, the maximum number of migrants have come from Africa and Asia. According to Sylvie Le Minaj of another statistics agency, a third of the French population today belongs to immigrants.
He was held responsible for the explosion of violence in France
Ethnic diversity, religious minorities, illegal immigration and some local policy decisions have been blamed for cyclical eruptions of violence in France over the years. While France has been part of the developed countries of the First World since the Industrial Revolution, it has struggled in managing its demographic diversity. Many observers have blamed the French laws for what they say appears to be discriminatory and insulting to the sensitivities of minority communities. France has also seen many examples of arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies. However, these law enforcement agencies work under tremendous stress to keep the life and property of common citizens safe with constant challenge.
The situation in France is very serious
However as appears in the present case and also in a few more instances in the past, unnecessary violence has been perpetrated by officers on duty with questionable personal ethics resulting in further loss of life and property. The situation unfolding today in France is undoubtedly grave as President Macron has had to postpone his official visit to Germany. It also raises some important questions about the approach adopted by governments in Europe which do not provide any assurances regarding European human rights issues, immigration policies and in particular restrictions on religious practices of minorities. Local policy makers should now be alerted by such unfortunate incidents. They should work to address the sensitivities of minorities, as the right to a dignified life is a universal necessity. The sense of alienation is increasingly fueled by signs of state arbitrariness. Now is the time for everyone to act sensibly and let peace be restored in the country as soon as possible.
