Sunday 24 / November / 2024
The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel is indicative of a "problem of systemic racism in the French police," says French journalist and analyst Rokhaya Diallo.
In an interview with DW, Diallo said the death served as a reminder of "how common it is for a person of color in France to be brutalized by the police."
That is not the problem of one single individual, but something that is deeper.
She called for anti-racist policies and legislation to address what she described as "deep problems" within the police force.
Diallo argued that the laws currently in place were enabling police personnel to exercise violence rather than curtailing their actions. She referred to a particular law, passed in 2017, that expanded the use of firearms by police to ensure self-defence.
"In five years, the number of people shot while driving was multiplied by five," she said. So it hasn't changed for the best, but for the worst.
Diallo said she expected the anger on the streets to continue "until the principle of equality is actually applied to everyone in France."
Macron lambasts social media, says more police to be deployed
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized social media and video games after convening a crisis meeting with ministers on the unrest.
The French president said social media was playing a "considerable role" in fomenting the unrest. Macron said he wants platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok to delete sensitive content.
Macron urged parents to keep young rioters off the streets, while noting a third of the 875 individuals arrested overnight were "young, or very young."
"It's the responsibility of parents to keep them at home," Macron said about young rioters. "It's not the state's job to act in their place."
Macron said "additional means" would be mobilized by the government, while condemning the "unacceptable exploitation of a death of an adolescent."
The French president did not declare a state of the emergency to tackle the unrest.
