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The 2005 civil unrest in France was a series of race riots and other forms of violent clashes between hundreds of youths from poor suburbs and the French Police.

The riots began Thursday, 27 October 2005 and originally focused in the banlieue of Paris. They peaked on the night of November 7, affecting 274 communes in total. On 17 November, the French police declared a return to a normal situation throughout France, saying that the 98 vehicles torched the previous night corresponds to the usual average. According to the official count, 8,973 vehicles were torched during the 20 nights of rioting, with 2,888 arrests, and 126 injured officials.

Timeline

The riots were triggered by the deaths of two African immigrant teenagers in Clichy-sous-Bois, a poor commune in an eastern banlieue (suburb) of Paris. Initially confined to the Paris area, the unrest subsequently spread to other areas of the Île-de-France région, and has spread through the outskirts of France's urban areas, also affecting some rural areas. After 3 November 2005 it spread to other cities in France, affecting all fifteen of the large aires urbaines in the country. Thousands of vehicles have been burned, and at least one person has been killed by the rioters. More than 2,700 rioters have been arrested.

On 8 November 2005 President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency effective at midnight. Despite the new regulations, riots continued, though on a reduced scale, the following two nights, and again worsened the third night. On 9 November and the morning of 10 November, a school was burned in Belfort and there was violence in Toulouse, Lille, Strasbourg, Marseille, and Lyon.

On the 10th and the morning of the 11th, violence increased overnight in the Paris region, and there were still a number of police wounded across the country . According to the Interior violence, arson, and attacks on police worsened on the eleventh and morning of the twelfth, and there were further attacks on power stations, causing a blackout in the northern part of Amiens.

Rioting took place in the city-center of Lyon on Saturday, 12 November, as young people attacked cars and threw rocks at riot police who responded with tear gas. Also that night, a nursery school was torched in the southern town of Carpentras.

On the night of the 14th and the morning of the 15th, 215 vehicles were burned across France and 71 people were arrested. 13 vehicles were torched in central Paris, compared to only one the night before. In the suburbs of Paris, firebombs were thrown at the treasury of Bobigny and against an electrical transformer in Clichy-sous-Bois, the neighborhood where the disturbances started. A daycare in Cambrai and a tourist agency in Fontenay-sous-Bois were also attacked. 18 buses were damaged by arson at a depot in Saint-Etienne. The mosque of Saint-Chamond was hit by three firebombs, which did little damage.

Only 163 vehicles went up in flames on the 20th night of unrest, November 15th to 16th, leading the French government to claim that the country was returning to an "almost normal situation". During the night's events, a Roman Catholic church was burned and a vehicle was rammed into an unoccupied police station in Romans-sur-Isere. In other incidents, a police officer was injured while making an arrest after youths threw bottles of acid at the town hall of Pont-Eveque, and a junior high school in Grenoble was set on fire. 50 arrests were carried out across the country.

On 16 November, hooded youths burned two cars, erected street barricades, and fired gunshots at police in the town of Pointe-a-Pitre on the island of Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean. Police returned fire.

The event that triggered the riots

On Thursday 27 October 2005, a group of 10 high school teenagers were playing football in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. The teenagers allegedly ran and hid when police officers arrived to conduct ID-checks.

Three of the teenagers, thinking they were being chased by the police, climbed a wall to hide in a power substation . "Bouna Traore, a 15-year-old of Malian background, and Zyed Benna, a 17-year-old of Tunisian origin" (photo) were electrocuted by a transformer in the electrical relay substation. Muhttin Altun, 17, (whose parents, Haseyin and Aïcha, are Turkish Kurds) was injured and hospitalized. A friend of the three stated, Clichy-sous-Bois "has three principal communities, the Arabs, the Turks and the Blacks. The three victims represented each one a community".

The next day, in front of a mosque (Muslim church) at Clichy-sous-Bois, a lacrymogen grenad had been thrown into by local special anti-riots police force (called CRS, compagnies républicaines de sécurité). Whether this act was intentional or not is still discussed but it added a lot more of frustation and anger into the young rioters.

The New York Times reports, citing two police investigations, that the incident began at 17:20 on Thursday, 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois when police were called to a construction site there to investigate a possible break in. Six youths were detained by 17:50. During questioning at the police station in Livry-Gargan at 18:12, blackouts occurred at the station and in nearby areas. These were caused, police say, by the electrocution of the two boys and the injury of the third.

"According to statements by Mr. Altun, who remains hospitalized with injuries, a group of 10 or so friends had been playing football on a nearby field and were returning home when they saw the police patrol. They all fled in different directions to avoid the lengthy questioning that youths in the housing projects say they often face from the police. They say 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."

There is controversy over whether or not the teens were actually chased. The local prosecutor, François Molins, has said they believed so, but the police were actually after other suspects attempting to avoid an identity check . Molins and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy maintain that the dead teenagers had not been "physically pursued" by the police. This is disputed by some: The Australian reports that "Despite denials by police officials and Sarkozy and de Villepin, friends of the boys said they were being pursued by police after a false accusation of burglary and that they 'feared interrogation'" . There were initial police accusations that the boys were thieves, also echoed by Dominique de Villepin on national television, which were later withdrawn. Inconsistent statements by police and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy have fueled public mistrust of the authorities since the riots began.

This event ignited pre-existing tensions. Protesters told The Associated Press the unrest was an expression of frustration with high unemployment and police harassment in the areas. "People are joining together to say we've had enough," said one protester. "We live in ghettos. Everyone lives in fear." The rioters' suburbs are also home to a large North African immigrant population, allegedly adding ethnic and religious tensions which some right-wing commentators believe contribute further to such frustrations.

At least two unnamed internet bloggers have been accused of possibly inciting the violence and encouraging the French youth to rise up against the government and riot. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was cited by CNN as stating that "some of the violence had been organized through Internet blogs that have now been shut down."

Nicolas Sarkozy's comment on a television programme, "clean them out with a Kärcher (pressurized water)", generated intense controversy and it has been suggested that it aggravated the violence in the early days of the riots. Before the riots, Sarkozy also called the teenagers living in house-projects "racaille", sometimes translated as "scum", which was condemned by many French politicians.

Context

On 5 November the New York Times reported the riots had not taken strong ideological or religious overtones, and "while a majority of the youths committing the acts are Muslim, and of African or North African origin" local residents say that "second-generation Portuguese immigrants and even some children of native French have taken part."

The BBC reports that French society's negative perceptions of Islam and of immigrants have alienated some French Muslims and may have been a factor in the causes of the riots; "Islam is seen as the biggest challenge to the country's secular model in the past 100 years". At the same time, the editorial questioned whether or not such alarm is justified, citing that France's Muslim ghettos are not hotbeds of separatism and that "the suburbs are full of people desperate to integrate into the wider society." The BBC also reported that there was a "huge well of fury and resentment among the children of North African and African immigrants in the suburbs of French cities."

The inhabitants of the French suburbs (banlieue) suffer from unemployment at a much higher level than that of the rest of France. According to the BBC, unemployment of people of foreign origin is 1.5 times higher than that of people of French origin, after adjusting for educational qualifications. An unemployment rate of 5% for French university graduates can be compared to the unemployment rate of 26.5% for university graduates of north African origin (BBC). Racial and religious discrimination against persons with dark skin or Muslim-sounding names has been cited as a major cause of unhappiness in the areas affected. According to the BBC, "Those who live there say that when they go for a job, as soon as they give their name as "Mamadou" and say they live in Clichy, they are immediately told that the vacancy has been taken." The nonprofit organization SOS Racisme has sent identical CVs to French companies with European- and African or Muslim-sounding names attached; they found CVs with African or Muslim sounding names attached were discarded. In addition, they have noted widespread use of markings indicating race in employers' databases and that discrimination is more widespread for those with college degrees than for those without. This has contributed to widespread anger at a lack of job prospects in France.

Assessment of rioting

Assessments of the extent of violence and damage that occurred during the riots are under way. Figures may be incomplete or inaccurate. Some French media sources, including France 3, have decided not to report the extent of damage so as to avoid any risk of inflaming the situation. After the first few days of rioting media organisations agreed to publish only the total number of torched cars, without giving locations, to avoid encouraging any type of contest between rioters. The French Federation of Insurance Companies (FFSA), has given a preliminary estimate for the total damage up to November 14, 2005 as being up to €200 million for property and casualty losses, inclusive of €20 million for torched cars.

Summary statistics

• Started: 17:20 on Thursday, 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois
• Towns affected: 274 (on 7 November )
• Property damage: more than 8,970 vehicles (Not counting buildings)
• Monetary damage: unknown at this time. Estimated at €200 Million.
• Arrests: more than 2,880
• Deaths: 1 (Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec, not counting Benna and Traoré; see Timeline)
• Police and firefighters injured: 126

Source: French Interior Ministry, BBC News unless stated

Figures and tables

Note: In the table and charts, events reported as occuring during a night and the following morning are listed as occuring on the day of the morning. The timeline article does the opposite.

File:2005france graph.png

List of areas affected

Île-de-France

• Paris (3rd, 17th arrondissements)
• Seine-Saint-Denis: Aubervilliers, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Bagnolet, Bobigny, Bondy, Clichy-sous-Bois, Drancy, Épinay-sur-Seine, Gagny, La Courneuve, Le_Blanc-Mesnil, Le Bourget, Montfermeil, Montreuil-sous-Bois, Noisy-le-Grand, Noisy-le-Sec, Pantin, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Romainville, Rosny-sous-Bois, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, Sevran, Stains, Tremblay-en-France, Villepinte, Villetaneuse
• Yvelines: Achères, Les Mureaux, Sartrouville, Trappes
• Seine-et-Marne: Meaux, Torcy, Melun area
• Val-de-Marne: Champigny, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Ormesson-sur-Marne, Villejuif, Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
• Essonne: Athis-Mons, Evry, Corbeil-Essonnes, Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, Brétigny-sur-Orge, Grigny, Fleury-Mérogis
• Hauts-de-Seine: Asnières, Clamart, Colombes, Gennevilliers, Sèvres, Suresnes
• Val-d'Oise: Argenteuil, Villiers-le-Bel

Other French areas affected

• Ain: Bourg-en-Bresse, Meximieux
• Aisne: Soissons
• Alpes-Maritimes: Drap, Nice, Saint-André, Cannes
• Bas-Rhin: Schiltigheim, Strasbourg
• Bouches-du-Rhône: Marseille
• Côte d'Or: Dijon
• Doubs: Montbéliard
• Eure: Évreux
• Finistère: Brest, Quimper
• Gironde: Bègles, Blanquefort, Bordeaux, Lormont
• Guadeloupe: Pointe-à-Pitre French territory in the Caribbean
• Haute-Garonne: Toulouse
• Haute-Marne: Saint-Dizier
• Hautes-Pyrénées: Tarbes
• Haute-Savoie: Sallanches, Seynod, Cluse, Ville-la-Grand, Annemasse, Rumilly
• Haut-Rhin: Colmar, Illzach, Mulhouse
• Hérault: Béziers, Frontignan, Ganges, Lunel, Montpellier, Saint-André-de-Sangonis, Sète
• Ille-et-Vilaine: Saint-Malo, Rennes
• Indre-et-Loire: Tours
• Isère: Echirolles, Grenoble
• Loir-et-Cher: Blois
• Loire : Roanne, Saint-Étienne
• Loire-Atlantique: Nantes, Saint-Herblain
• Loiret: Montargis, Orléans
• Mayenne: Laval
• Meurthe-et-Moselle: Nancy
• Moselle: Guénange, Metz, Rombas, Thionville
• Nord: Dunkerque, Hem, Loos, Marcq-en-Baroeul, Lille, Mons-en-Baroeul, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Valenciennes, Wattrelos
• Oise: Beauvais, Méru, Nogent-sur-Oise, Creil
• Pas-de-Calais: Lens, Calais, Arras, Le Portel, Hénin-Beaumont
• Pyrénées-Orientales: Canet-en-Roussillon, Perpignan
• Puy-de-Dôme: Clermont-Ferrand
• Pyrénées-Atlantiques: Pau
• Rhône: Lyon, Rillieux-la-Pape, Vénissieux
• Sarthe: Le Mans
• Saône-et-Loire: Montceau-les-Mines, Chalon-sur-Saône
• Seine Maritime: Le Havre, Rouen
• Somme: Amiens
• Tarn-et-Garonne: Montauban, La Ville-Dieu-du-Temple
• Territoire de Belfort: Belfort
• Var: Draguignan, Fréjus, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Toulon
• Vaucluse: Apt, Avignon, Bédoin, Carpentras, Maubec, Pertuis, Valréas
• Vosges: Épinal

Related events in other countries

Belgium

It has been suggested that 2005 Belgian urban violence be merged into this article. (Discuss)

On Sunday, November 6, the first possibly related incident outside France took place. Five cars were torched in Saint-Gilles (Brussels), Belgium. Belgian police considered it an isolated case. However, on Monday another five cars were torched in the region, as more were overturned and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the police. In Liège, Sint-Niklaas, Bruges, and even the rural community of Dilbeek, there were isolated events of car burning and Molotov-throwing. On November 8, there were twenty more acts of car burning, Molotov-throwing and other arson. New areas that were hit include Antwerp, Charleroi, Genk, Ghent, La Louvière and Lokeren. On November 9 the police encountered conclusive evidence that the arson was inspired by the situation in France: on a torched car, the remark "Fuck you Sarkozy, Antwerp - Paris" was found. In the evening, more than thirty new cases of torched cars and other arson were reported. Some twenty people in total were arrested. On November 10, three people were arrested after some 25 new crimes. Meanwhile, there were reports of radical weblogs calling for a massive riot in Brussels on November 12. On November 11, there were another thirty incidents and a couple of arrests. On November 12, the expected coordinated riots became reality, and police arrested (and released) 60 out of 100 rioters. However, some thirty cars were burned and one injured suspect was arrested. Among the new places affected were Vilvoorde and the university city of Louvain-La-Neuve. On November 13, a truck set on fire caused a blaze that destroyed two buildings, including a school. In the evening, there were some 15 more cases of arson. On November 14 and November 15 there were another dozen of incidents. However, media coverage in Belgium is subsiding.

Denmark

A number of arsons occured in Viby near Aarhus in Denmark in late October and early November. Store-front windows were also smashed. After a community meeting, complete with social workers and police, relative calm was achieved over the weekend. However, a substantial police force had to be deployed on Wednesday, 9 November to restore order after store-smashing and attempted torchings recurred.

Germany

A number of arson attacks and other acts of vandalism, possibly inspired by the riots in France, have been committed in Germany. Six cars were set ablaze in Bremen and Berlin on the night between 6 and 7 November. In the Moabit neighborhood of Berlin, five cars were set on fire. In Bremen, a caravan (camper) burned down. Also in Cologne four cars have been burned down. Police have not ruled out the possibility that these were copycat attacks related to those in France.

Greece

On 11 November, a group of around 70 youths attacked the French Institute building in Athens.

About 50 anarchists firebombed two car dealerships in central Athens early Sunday, 13 November, destroying more than 30 automobiles. The Citroen and Mercedes showrooms were severely damaged.

Two French businesses were attacked by some unidentified arsonists on Monday night, 14 November in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. A Renault car dealership was firebombed, destroying eight cars. A Carrefour supermarket which similarly attacked, suffering serious damage.

The Netherlands

Police made two arrests Sunday morning, 13 November, in Waalwijk in the southern province of North Brabant, after four cars were burned during Saturday night disturbances.

More than a dozen cars were firebombed and several others damaged in incidents in the Dutch port of Rotterdam on the night of Saturday, 12 November..

Spain

On 6 November, twenty trash cans and six cars were burned in the city of Seville. On 7 November, nineteen trash cans, five cars and a motorbike were torched in the same city. Firefighters attempting to extinguish the fire were injured by stones thrown by attackers. The subdelegate of the Spanish government in Seville considered it to be an isolated case. On 8 November, another car and fourteen trash cans were burned in many districts of Seville. The city council has imposed an information blackout over local police and firefighters, so they can't report new incidents to the press. It appears that these acts of vandalism are coordinated, because many fires start at the same time in different places of Seville. Also, four cars were torched in the city of Hospitalet de Llobregat. According to the National Police, on 9 November also were some cars burned in Seville. On Thursday, 10 November, a unknown number of cars have been burned in Seville. Three cars were burned in Hospitalet de Llobregat and Barcelona. Also have been found some wall paintings in Barcelona with the message the fire is extending and Paris is burning. On 11 November, a car, two motorbikes and thirteen trashcans were burned in Seville. Six people were arrested. .

Switzerland

On Sunday night, 13 November, two cars were burned in the Swiss town of Martigny. .

Guadeloupe

On November 16th police and firemen in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe came under gunfire after hooded youths burned two cars and erected street barriers in the town of Pointe-a-Pitre, police said Wednesday.

No one was injured as firemen fled the scene once the shooting broke out Tuesday night, when police returned fire against what they characterized as a trap set by snipers. Police believe the the attack is linked to rioting in French Suburbs.

Response

Political

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy after the fourth night of riots declared a zero tolerance policy towards urban violence and announced that 17 companies of riot police (C.R.S.) and 7 mobile police squadrons (escadrons de gendarmerie mobile) would be stationed in contentious Paris neighborhoods. Sarkozy has said that he believes that some of the violence may be at the instigation of organized gangs. "... All of this doesn't appear to us to be completely spontaneous," he said . The families of the two youths killed, after refusing to meet with Sarkozy, met with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on 3 November. Azouz Begag, delegate minister for the promotion of equal opportunity, criticized Sarkozy for the latter's use of "imprecise, warlike semantics". . On 5 November, Paris (right-wing) prosecutor Yves Bot told Europe 1 radio that "This is done in a way that gives every appearance of being coordinated." The controversed Union of Islamic Organisations of France issued a fatwa against the riots, without much results. The mufti of Marseilles opposed Nicolas Sarkozy's controversed use of islamic organizations, declaring that their role was not to intercede for the youth.

President Jacques Chirac announced a national state of emergency on 8 November. On 8 November, Lilian Thuram, a famous soccer member of the Higher Council for Integration, blamed Sarkozy : . He explained that discrimination and unemployment is the root of the evil. On 9 November, 2005, Nicolas Sarkozy issued an order to deport foreigners convicted of involvement, provoking concerns from the left-wing, including for example SOS Racisme. Mr Sarkozy told parliament that 120 foreigners — "not all of whom are here illegally" — had been called in by police, accused of taking part in the nightly attacks. "I have asked the prefects to deport them from our national territory without delay, including those who have a residency visa," he said. The far-right French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen agreed, stating that naturalized French rioters should have their citizenship revoked. A demonstration against the expulsion of all foreign rioters and demanding the end of the state of emergency, was called for on November 15 in Paris by left-wing and human rights organizations.

Police

Sarkozy stated that police officers should be armed with non-lethal weapons to combat urban violence . Prior to the riots, he had already equipped the police with flash-ball and Taser, which has been criticized by Amnesty International, concerned by risks of abuse. French national police spokesman, Patrick Hamon, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying that there appeared to be no coordination among gangs in different areas. But he said youths in individual neighborhoods were communicating by cellphone text messages, online blogs, and/or email — arranging meetings and warning each other about police operations. An extra 2,600 police were drafted on 6 November. On 7 November, de Villepin on the TF1 television channel announced the deployment of 18,000 police, supported by a 1,500 strong reserve. Sarkozy suspended eight police officers, because a camera had captured them in the act of beating up someone they had arrested .

Firefighters

The Paris Fire Brigade developed an "Urban violences plan", inspired by the experience of firefighters in Northern Ireland (Libération, Oct. 29). The "hot zone" is identified and the fire engines wait outside this zone. When a fire is reported, a minimal team is engaged (two men outside the fire engine) under cover of the police forces.

Media Coverage

Jean-Claude Dassier, News director general at TF1 and one of France's leading TV news executives, has admitted to self censoring the coverage of the riots in the country for fear of encouraging support for far-right politicians; while Public television station France 3 has stopped reporting the numbers of torched cars.

References

• ABC News via Associated Press (29 October, 2005), "Youths Riot for a Second Night in Paris"
• Durand, Jacky Libération (29 October, 2005), "Pompier façon légion romaine" (Firefighters à la roman legion)
• New Straits Times, p. 28 (8 November, 2005), "Fatwa against riot issued"
• New Straits Times, p. 28 (8 November, 2005), "French violence rages on"
• Rousseau, Ingrid Associated Press (31 October, 2005), "France to Step Up Security After Riots"
• Gecker, Jocelyn Associated Press (2 November, 2005), "French government in crisis mode"
• Gecker, Jocelyn Associated Press (2 November, 2005), "Seventh Day of Violence Erupts Near Paris" by
• Keaten, Jamey Associated Press (3 November, 2005),"French residents can only watch amid riots"
• Sky News (4 November, 2005), "Disabled Woman Set Ablaze". .
• ABC News (4 November, 2005), "Paris Riots in Perspective". .
• New Straits Times, p. 24. (5 November, 2005), "Riots spread to suburbs".
• Heneghan, Tom Reuters (5 November, 2005), "Paris seeks 'hidden hands' in riots"
• Libération (5 November, 2005), "Il faut que Sarkozy s'excuse ou démissionne" ("Sarkozy must apologise or resign")
• Reuters (6 November, 2005), "France's Chirac says restoring order top priority"
• Bouteldja, Naima Red Pepper "Paris is burning" (9 November, 2005)
• Sciolino, Elaine New York Times (10 November, 2005), "Chirac, Lover of Spotlight, Avoids Glare of France's Fires"
• Neue Zürcher Zeitung (11 November, 2005), "Die Banlieues kommen nicht zur Ruhe" ("The suburbs do not get quiet")

See also

• List of riots
• La Haine (Hate) A film about suburban violence in France, released in 1995
• Battle of Paris Massacre of Algerians in Paris during demonstrations in 1961.
• French May of 1968.

External links

• French video inside a riot

Photographs

• Yahoo! and News photos of the riot
• Reuters image gallery
• La Repubblica image gallery
• Pictures from the BBC
• Map of affected areas as of 7 November
• Flickr tags: paris riots and paris riot; and a Flickr group.

Editorials

• The Guardian: Questions over the country's ability to integrate its Muslim population
• ZMag: Why is France Burning?
• The Economist: An underclass rebellion

Eyewitness blog reports

• Paris Rioting : A Digest of Francophone Blogs

Films about the banlieue

• Le bruit l'odeur et quelques étoiles documentary film on previous outbreaks of violence
• Wesh Wesh qu'est-ce qui se passe ? film (fiction) showing life in France's "cités" (poor suburbs)

• History of France
• History of Paris
• Riots
• Seine-Saint-Denis