Violence in France

The North Africans, Arab and Muslim have inherited bitter memories of colonialism and, for Algerians, of a savage war of liberation. They, and Black African immigrants, have been housed mostly in projects that encircle the big cities, but are not really part of them.

To complete the parallels with the United States, the majority of the victims in police killings at traffic stops in France in the past decade have been from the minority populations, and the French police are as militarized and trigger-happy as American police, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screen capture image courtesy of CBCNN

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

July 5, 2023

LONDON, U.K.—On July 1, the fifth day of violent protests all over France against the police killing of unarmed teenager Nahel Merzouk, the daily arrests dropped below 1,000 for the first time—but the violence became even more extreme.

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