Riots in Paris Suburbs: Autumn 2005

Summary: Widespread rioting among African immigrants to France erupted over a three-week period from Oct. 27 to Nov. 15, 2005; in May 2006; and again in March 2007. The riots started in a suburb of Paris, then spread to other suburbs and eventually to other areas. The apparently accidental death of two teenagers was blamed for sparking the unrest, which also reflected unhappiness over economic discrimination experienced by Africans in France. The riots later became a central issue in the 2007 French presidential elections.

Date: Oct. 27-Nov. 15, 2005; May 20, 2006; Mar. 27, 2007.

Place: Rioting began in Clichy-sous-Bois, a city with a large African immigrant population. Unrest spread to other immigrant communities in suburbs surrounding Paris, and then to other areas of France.

Incidents: On Oct. 27, 2005, two teenagers of African immigrant parentage were electrocuted at an electrical substation in Clichy-sous-Bois. Friends of the two claimed the boys wanted to evade police who were approaching them; authorities denied this. In any event, the two boys, Zyed Benna and Buona Traore, aged 15 and 17, tried to hide in the substation and were accidentally electrocuted; a third boy escaped injury. News of the deaths caused violent rioting in the town, including torching cars and arson, which continued night after night, spreading to other immigrant communities around Paris and then beyond the capital to other parts of France. The nightly violence continued for nearly three weeks. In total, nearly 300 towns experienced violence during this period, 9,000 vehicles sustained damage, there were nearly 3,000 arrests, one death, and countless injuries.

At the end of May 2006 a new round of attacks on police erupted in Clichi-sous-Bois and Montfermeil. On May 30 and 31, youths threw rocks at police and set cars on fire. Among the 13 people arrested was Muhittin Altun, 18, the sole survivor of the incident in which two of his friends were electrocuted the previous October.

Again on March 27, 2007, just weeks before the national presidential election, an incident of alleged fare-beating touched off anti-police riots among African immigrants living in Paris.

Context: Discontent runs high in France's immigrant communities, where young adults feel especially alienated from the mainstream society. They complain of chronic poverty, unemployment, and lack of the educational opportunity that would help them break out of the cycle.

Residents of the affected communities, mostly Muslims of North African descent, have claimed that aggressive police policies, such as systematically accosting people without cause and demanding identification papers, have escalated tensions.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy had recently raised the stakes after a visit to another suburb, Argenteuil. During his tour he had to dodge rocks and bottles that were thrown at him. He then publicly called the inhabitants Argenteuil "gangrene" that called for an "industrial cleaning." Mr. Sarkozy's approval ratings in France rose after these statements.

Known or presumed perpetrators: Young, second generation immigrants, mostly with Muslim North African roots, among whom serious resentment against the French government had been brewing for quite some time.

The Incidents: There are two conflicting scenarios regarding the events of the late afternoon and evening of Oct. 27, 2005. According to witnesses, including Muhttin Altun, who survived the accident in the electrical substation, a neighborhood game of soccer among young male immigrants was just breaking up. The players saw a police patrol approaching and scattered to avoid being accosted for an "identity check." Residents claim that anyone can be subjected to an identity check by the police at any time for no cause and that the policy amounts to harassment. Young men are often taken to the police station and held there until parents are able to come and collect them. Buona Traore, 17, and Zyed Benna, 15, along with Mr. Altun, fled toward a nearby electrical substation to hide, and managed to clamber inside. Witnesses say that they were being pursued by police.

According to the police scenario, a patrol was in the area to investigate a construction site break-in and the officers did not involve themselves with the soccer playing group. Police say they reported to the substation only to investigate a report of a blackout, and then discovered the two dead and one injured youths inside. (The injured youth, Muhittin Altun, was arrested in May 2006 and accused of throwing rocks at police in a renewed wave of anti-police riots.)

News of the deaths spread quickly, and groups of angry residents gathered just as quickly. Two days later, following funeral services, many residents joined a march, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with two boys' photos, and reading "Dead for no reason."

The hard-line Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy (his family had come from Hungary), who subsequently ran for president in 2007, directed the government's response, which he described as "zero-tolerance" toward the rioting. As night after night brought renewed unrest, and the rioting spread throughout suburban Paris and even beyond, curfews, bans on public meetings, and thousands of arrests failed to have a positive effect on the situation. On Nov. 8, President Jacques Chirac issued a declaration of a formal state of emergency throughout the country.

Perpetrators/Suspects: Most rioters were thought to be second generation immigrants, born in France but poorly integrated into French society, acting from resentment and rage.

Broader Impact

On November 20, 2005, stricter controls on immigration were announced by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. In his first major speech following weeks of violence. The government threatened to deport people found guilty of rioting. President Jacques Chirac pledged to improve economic opportunity for young adults. In 2006 parliament enacted the "First Employment Contract," which caused widespread demonstrations and strikes among Frances mainstream youth and university students, and is eventually withdrawn.

An incident on March 27, 2007, at the Gare du Nord subway station in Paris, in which an alleged fare beater was arrested, touched off a new round of rioting, bringing the central government's policies toward immigrants to the forefront of the presidential campaign. Police alleged that an illegal immigrant from Congo jumped a subway turnstile, then punched a ticket agent who confronted him. Gare du Nord is the main conduit for travel to the troubled northeast suburbs.

As the man was placed under arrest, an estimated 250-300 youths began to riot, attacking officers, smashing shop windows, and spilling out into surrounding streets. Several ticket agents were injured in the melee, which continued past midnight. At times, the rioters joined together in shouting slogans against presidential front-runner and hard-liner Nicolas Sarkozy.

History/Background: During World War II the French government could draw on their African colonies, especially Algeria, for male workers to replace French citizens who were called into the armed forces. It was the assumption on both sides that the move would be temporary and that the migrant workers would return to their homeland when no longer needed. With economic boom times in France following the war, the country experienced a mass immigration from Algeria as it eased strictures on immigration. Nearly two million Algerians settled in France in the 1950s and early 1960s. Unlike the wave that occurred during the war, these were people who meant to settle with their families and stay. They were also overwhelmingly Muslim.

In 2006 there were about three million Muslims in France, most of Algerian or other North African ancestry. Sociologists describe them as constituting a permanent underclass, under-employed, under-educated, but by their sheer numbers more visible, which presents another set of problems. For instance, there was rioting in Paris in 1989, in support of a Muslim schoolgirl who was expelled for insisting on wearing her hajib (head-covering) to her classes. The actress Brigitte Bardot has weighed in by denouncing the Muslim custom of animal sacrifice on the Feast of Abraham, and even declaring she would leave France because there are "too many Muslims."

In 2005 the hard-line Interior Minister, Sarkozy made headlines in France for introducing policies for "cleaning up" the Paris suburbs where African Muslims predominate. On Oct. 25, 2005, he visited one such suburb, Argenteuil, to see for himself what impact his measures were having. He had his answer when he encountered a barrage of stones and bottles.

Following his visit, Sarkozy made many public comments regarding the "rabble" that needed to be "cleaned up," and referred to residents of the under-privileged areas as being like "gangrene."

It was two days after these statements that Zyed and Traore were killed.

Bibliography

"The Aftermath," Economist, 11/19/2005, Vol. 377 Issue 8453, p. 54.

Terver, Pierre. "By the Fireside in Paris." Peace & Conflict Monitor. Nov. 2005, 1p. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=19376818&site=isc-live

Valls-Russell, Janice. "France's Identity Crisis." New Leader. 88:6. (Nov.-Dec. 2005): 3p. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=19472072&site=isc-live