French Riots Begin (2005)

Thu Oct 27, 2005

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Image: Marching protesters with a banner reading “PAS DE JUSTICE PAS DE PAIX” [socialistproject.ca]

On this day in 2005, weeks of riots erupted throughout France after two youths died from electrocution while hiding from the police in a power substation. President Chirac declared a state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to police.

According to a youth that survived the substation incident, they hid “to avoid the lengthy questioning that youths in the housing projects say they often face from the police. [He said] they are required to present identity papers and can be held as long as four hours at the police station, and sometimes their parents must come before the police will release them.”

The deaths ignited pre-existing tensions in immigrant communities, particularly those of African and Arab origin, and protesters took to the street en masse. Initially confined to the Paris area, the protests and riots quickly spread throughout the country. By November 4th, thousands of vehicles had been burned, three people had been killed, and more than 2800 rioters were arrested.

On November 8th, President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency, which was granted a three month extension a week later. Local authorities were allowed to impose curfews, conduct house-to-house searches, and ban public gatherings to quell the riots.