Burning France: Riots expose deep-seated discontent, racial discrimination

Mounia, the mother of Nahel, sits atop a truck during a commemoration march in Nanterre on June 29, 2023. The riots were sparked when news began to spread that Nahel Merzouk, a French teen of Algerian descent, had been shot and killed by police at a traffic stop while driving in Nanterre on June 27. The police had tried to pull Nahel over because he looked so young, driving a Mercedes with Polish license plates in a bus lane, and had allegedly run a red light to avoid being stopped.

Protesters plunder a Zara store in Strasbourg, France, on June 30, 2023. Since riots broke out on Tuesday, protesters set fire to various buildings and vandalised public property. Stores of brands like Louis Vuitton, Zara and Apple have been ransacked and looted, amongst supermarkets, restaurants and a bank.

Residents walk past buildings in a neighbourhood in Nanterre, France, July 2, 2023. The unrest is a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination, unemployment and lack of opportunity in low-income neighbourhoods in France, where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies.

Police hold down young people during the fifth night of protests in the Champs Elysees area in Paris, July 2, 2023. France's interior ministry announced that more than three thousand people had been detained so far following a mass security deployment to quell France's worst social upheaval in years.

French riot police officers and emergency personnel work to move a vehicle during the fifth day of protests in Paris, France, July 2, 2023. Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the days of rioting in a country where police have long faced accusations of systemic racism in singling out minorities. The police officer accused of killing the teen has been given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.

Masked protesters walk amid tear gas during clashes at a march in tribute to Nahel in Nanterre, France, June 29, 2023. The French police say that their forces represent France's multicultural society with officers from all backgrounds, and the best way forward is to return to a system of community policing in France, where the police and locals know each other by their first names.

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Benza district in Marseille, France, on June 28 2023. Macron, under fire from the political left and right, is debating what best to do next. The left accuses him of neglecting the poor and the marginalised, and the right demands that he crack down harder on violence.

Young protestors on the second night of riot following the death of Nahel, in Montreuil, Ile de France, on June 30, 2023. Once again, the role of social media and video games was questioned as French President Macron blamed TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms for fuelling the protests. He said that social media helped rioters organise themselves and contributed to "youths mimicking the destruction they saw online as if they were re-living the video games that have intoxicated them!"