France: Police and racism
01 January 1991
France: Police and racism
artdoc April=1995
Urban unrest on housing estates
Police attack Harkis in Amiens
A video of a clash between the riot police and young `Harkis'
(children of Algerians who fought on the French side during the
Algerian war of independence) has confirmed the young people's
claim that the police acted without provocation.
Several days of rioting took place on the Cité Fafat estate in
Amiens. It started when police lobbed tear-gas grenades into a
cellar where teenage girls were having a party. The police's
claim that they were drawn into an ambush at the club, where they
were met by a hail of stones and missiles, was initially believed
until a neighbour came forward with a video which conclusively
proved otherwise. Youth leaders also complain of indiscriminate
identity checks and police harassment. Amongst those detained
after the latest disturbances was a 16-year-old mentally
handicapped boy.
Tension had been high in Amiens since the murder of Abderaman
Rabah (see above). Older members of the Harki community are
aggrieved that a wreath laid in memory of pro-French Algerian
soldiers killed in the Algerian war of independence was removed
by officials (Guardian 15, 19.11.94).
Clashes in Lille
Youths clashed with police in Lille after a young man Reynald
Bridot, was shot dead in a fight. Bridot, a former-drug-addict,
was very popular locally as he had set an example to younger kids
in his fight against drug addiction. It seems that he may have
been singled out by those who controlled drugs locally and had
threatened to kill him.
Youths set fire to a local administrative centre and went in
pursuit of known drug dealers. (Le Figaro 26.9.94).
More violence in Chanteloup-Les Vignes
Youths, both girls and boys, many as young as 15-years-old,
attacked police in Yvelines and ransacked a railway station at
Chanteloup-Les-Vignes. Police claim that the unrest was caused
by drink and boredom. Apparently, in the 1970s, the first
immigrant youth gangs in the country were formed at Chanteloup-
Les-Vignes. Since then many new immigrants -up to 45
nationalities - have moved to housing estates in the area
prompted by the lack of housing and unemployment in Paris (Le
Figaro 26.9.94).
Youths in Mulhouse attack police after allegations of brutality
Clashes between police and 200 youths occurred in the working-
class area of Beurtzwiller in Mulhouse after a young man, taken
in for questioning, accused the police of brutality. The young
man had been taken to the police station because a doctor who had
come to check-up on his father who was off work sick had accused
him of threatening him (Le Monde, n.d.)
Angry scenes in Romainville
SOS Racisme have taken up the case of two young immigrant
motorcyclists, Yves Moatti and Samir Firoud from Romainville, who
were seriously injured, they say deliberately, by police.
In August, the two young men, neither wearing crash helmets,
were driving their moped when a police car drove up sharply in
front of them, blocking their way. The youths could not break
quickly enough, and the impact was such that one of the youths
had to undergo emergency surgery. According to Yves Moatti, the
police deliberately smashed into the moped. Although Yves was
screaming in pain and Samir's legs were injured, the first
response of the police was to demand to see their identity
papers. When an old Jewish lady standing nearby demanded that an
ambulance be called, the police told her to `Shut up' and to `Go
back to Germany if you've got a problem'. A plumber, on his way
home from work, was asked to show his identity papers when he
tried to intervene. It took an ambulance 45 minutes to arrive on
the scene, having to weave its way through police riot
reinforcements called to the scene.
In fact, the presence of the CRS reinforcements served to
inflame the situation further and led to arrests of many
bystanders ac