France: police kill four (1)
01 January 1991
France: police kill four
artdoc July=1993
The new RPR-UDF French government under Mr Balladur had
campaigned for tougher immigration laws and increased police
powers. At the beginning of April four people died at the hands
of the police which was followed by widespread riots, the
government announced its intention of increasing police powers
and toughening the immigration laws.
The riots were triggered on 4 April in Chamb ry in eastern
France when police arrested an 18 year old suspected of stealing
a car. He was shot dead by the police during the arrest. Two days
later, on 6 April, a 17 year old Zairean, Makome M'Bowole, was
shot dead in custody after being arrested on suspicion of
shoplifting. Makome's arrest took place in the 18th
arrondissement of Paris, a district with a large immigrant
population in the north of the city. While Makome was being held
in the interrogation room at the local commissariat (police
station), the arresting officer put a gun to the boy's head and
shot him at point blank range. The police officer, Inspector
Pascal Compain, who said he had `only wanted to frighten him' has
been charged with voluntary manslaughter. As the news filtered
out, demonstrations took place outside the commissariat and these
quickly turned to riots as the police tried to break up the
crowds. All demonstrations in Paris were
immediately banned, but people continued to demonstrate and the
8 April the rioting had spread to Lille. In Tourcoing, a Lille
suburb, a 17 year old Algerian, Rachid Ardjouni, and four of his
friends were caught up in a police round-up and told to lie on
the ground. Rachid was shot in the head by a drunken police
officer and died the following day. Sgt Frederick Fournier has
been charged in connection with Ardjouni's killing.
Demonstrations and confrontations with police continued in both
cities until 10 April when a final demonstration took place in
the 18th arrondissement - seventy people were arrested, including
six charged with rioting and carrying weapons.
The cause of Makome's arrest and subsequent murder was a major
police sweep through the 18th arrondissement ostensibly to round
up drug dealers and minor criminals in the area. `Sweeps' are
regularly used in an racist way with white people rarely stopped
and involve police carrying out identity card checks in the metro
and the streets. They are used as a means of picking up `illegal'
immigrants and over-stayers, especially as the time taken with
dealing with the bureaucracy to get an identity card discourages
all but the most persistent. This particular `sweep' led to many
being arrested whose papers had expired or were otherwise out of
order. Immigrants picked up in this way are frequently deported
back to their country of origin.
On 8 April 32 year old Pascal Tais also died of a ruptured
spleen while in police custody in the town of Arachon; police
claimed that the injury was self-inflicted. A week later a 15-
year old white youth, Eric Simonte, was seriously ill after being
shot in the back by a motorcycle policeman who suspected him of
stealing a car, near Cherbourg.
Interior Minister Charles Pasqua's response to the police
killings was to announce the introduction of changes in the law.
Three changes are planned concerning the ID card system: firstly,
in future carrying the card will be obligatory for everyone (at
present only immigrants must carry their cards at all times);
secondly, all police will have the right to demand to see the
card (at present it is only Officiers de Police Judiciare who are
specially authorised to do this); lastly, in future all cards
will be plastic with a computerised number to give instant access
to police files.
The plans have led to criticism from civil liberties groups
(see also story in Immigration section on changes in the law).
They point to the Council of Europe report which criticised the
French government for not having