France has been in turmoil for the past few days. The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk (also spelled Naël), who refused to stop his car for a traffic check, by the Police in a Paris suburb on June 27, 2023 shook the entire European nation. Since the demise of Nahel, angry protestors have vandalised cars, houses and shops in different French cities. One could find broken glasses on the tramline in Lyon, as protesters have looted shops and restaurants in the third-largest city of France that is located at the confluence of the Rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, 391km southeast of Paris and 278km north of Marseille. French President Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron has admitted that the deadly Police shooting is inexplicable and unforgivable, saying that the case “moved the entire nation”.

The fiery and devastated images of France, published by the international press and going viral on social media, are not just the reflection of the riots following the death of a teenager, but the growing resentment against the Police as a reaction of Racism. Nationwide unrest erupted after the Police shot Algerian-born Nahel at point-blank range in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on June 27. The accused Police officer defended himself by claiming that he opened fire fearing that he or his colleagues might be injured by the teenager’s moving vehicle. However, the officer has been charged with murder and currently, he is in prison.

Nahel’s last rites were performed later on July 1. Although the local administration has claimed that the protests have subsided, protesters have damaged around 20 shops, and the Town Hall in Lyon. So far, 99 Town Halls have been damaged in different French cities. Protesters also vandalised 297 cars, and attacked 34 government buildings. The Police arrested around 160 people for their alleged involvement in creating chaos. A shop-keeper in Lyon said on July 1 that he would sell everything on July 3, and shut down his shop.

Meanwhile, Lyon Mayor Grégory Doucet met members of Residents’ Associations and local traders on July 1. However, it is still not clear whether their meeting was a successful one. Sociologist Alessio Motao of the University of Lyon has said that urban riots is a collective reaction in French history. According to the Sociologist, violence spreads because of certain events in certain situations. This collective response stands as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most people take to the streets, if something happens. Motao is of the opinion that this particular attitude is not just a reflection of spontaneous anger, but also of jealousy.

The Rightists are pressing President Macron to impose a State of Emergency in order to stop the riots and to restore normalcy. They are basically trying to take advantage of this situation. A social media page, created by a Right-Wing journalist, has already raised USD 1 million in donations to help the accused Police officer. On the other hand, the amount of donations collected for Nahel’s family is close to USD 0.2 million. The Macron Administration is desperate to avoid a repeat of 2005, when the death of two African-origin men triggered three-week-long riots, prompting the French Government to declare a State of Emergency.

The question arises here: Can the Police use certain tactics to stop the riots after unjustly killing a teenager, and when will this Chapter of Chaos end? No one knows…

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das