The Aftermath
A calm of sorts returns following the police riots, but the political, economic, and social costs are still being tallied.
It would be wrong to say that things have returned to normal in France following the protests and riots that broke out in the wake of a police officer shooting an unarmed teenager late last month.
There are still news updates about the police officer, who remains in custody. He denies witness accounts that he told the driver he was going to “get a bullet in the head” before the shooting, something that could speak to his intentions and whether this is a case of voluntary manslaughter or homicide.
The uproar in France caught the attention of a United Nations committee that criticized the nation’s police for racial profiling and excessive violence. France’s State Department helpfully explained that could not be true because France has a law banning such things, and therefore there is no problem because there is a law banning such things and that is that. Though police may not have helped their case this past weekend when they violently tackled the brother of a man who was killed by police several years ago during an otherwise peaceful march to remember the brother who was killed by the police.
Of course, the anger and resentment in the banlieues runs deep and transcends a single incident. But so far, as expected, there seem to be no new initiatives to address the feeling that residents of these areas feel isolated and forgotten, both socially and economically. Law and order remain paramount.
Maintaining said order includes canceling fireworks shows in Nanterre, where the shooting occurred, and banning the sale of fireworks after they became a weapon of choice by some rioters. It also may include considering plans such as the one floated by President Macron to cut off access to social media and networks if things get gnarly again.
“We need to think about how young people use social networks, in the family, at school, the interdictions there should be … and when things get out of hand we may have to regulate them or cut them off,” Macron told a meeting of mayors, according to The Guardian.
If there is a bright side for Macron in all of this, it seems to have gotten people to stop talking about the retirement reforms which prompted weeks of protests and strikes.
Still, none of this has stopped politicians from being, well, politicians and trying to leverage the moment. Everyone’s favorite right-wing demi-Gorgan continues to beat the anti-immigration drum amid debates about whether she is in the pole position to be elected president in 2027.
“We have suffered a totally anarchic immigration, which leads to a form of secession from French society,” Marine Le Pen lamented. "We must abolish le droit du sol and be much more demanding in the way we grant French nationality.” (le droit du sol = someone born in France, no matter their parents’ status, gets French citizenship.)
🚨🚨Danger! Danger!🚨🚨
That said, the scenes of daily violence and fires have largely abated and are no longer topping news shows or newspapers as we move into the national holiday 14 Juillet, better known in the US by its bastardized name, Bastille Day. Or, at least they are no longer dominating headlines here. Abroad is another story.
Apparently, “is it safe to travel to France” must have been surging on Google Trends because every international news outlet on the planet felt compelled to write a story with some combination of those keywords in the headlines, part of the lustful chase for pageviews that are the cornerstone of modern journalism.
A sample platter: “Traveling to France? What You Need to Know About the Protests” (NY Times); “France riots: Where is the violence? Is Paris safe to travel to?” (UK Daily Mail); “Should You Cancel Your Paris Trip After Travel Warning Issued?” (Fodor’s); and the classic “Iran issues travel warning for France” (Travel and Tour World).
Of course, all this freaking out has caused France’s tourism industry to freak out.
Last week, representatives of tourism associations met with Olivia Grégoire, ministre déléguée chargée des Petites et Moyennes entreprises, du Commerce, de l’Artisanat et du Tourisme. (A job title that just rolls off the tongue…) The theme of the meeting was to get an update on the “repercussions of the events of recent days on tourism activity and Farnce’s international image.”
Her message: Chill, yo. The government says France is not currently experiencing any wave of cancellations or modifications of stays that would suggest a massive drop in attendance.
“The riots have not dampened the enthusiasm of tourists, French and foreign, to come to one of our many French destinations,” she said. “However, we must not minimize the impact of these riots on the image of France. This is why, together with tourism players, we must collectively convey a reassuring and engaging message to preserve our attractiveness and the high-quality image of our services to tourists.”
Phew!
Still, the physical damage from the riots was very real. Small towns saw their share of violence that is usually limited to big-city protests. French insurance companies estimate they will play claims of €650 million for damages related to the riots. That includes cultural centers across the country such as libraries, cinemas, and theaters.
In Other News…
The riots may be losing some of their hold on the news cycle because there is the inevitable march of other events that grab our attention. For instance, there is the horrifying news that a swarm of bots overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s platform and forced the cancellation of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Paris concert. And the annual Tour de France has started under temperatures that are proving brutal to the athletes.
But more than anything else, the nation has been mesmerized by the disappearance this past weekend of a 2-year-old named Emile. The little boy wandered away from his grandparents’ yard in a southeastern French village as the family was preparing to get in the car for a trip. The search for Emile became an epic manhunt. Per The Guardian:
“Police, gendarmes and firefighters were joined by family members and villagers after the grandparents alerted them to Émile’s disappearance at about 5.15pm local time. Search and rescue teams using a helicopter, drones equipped with thermic cameras and sniffer dogs have combed the area since, but no trace of the child has been found despite covering more than 1,200 acres.”
Alas, by late Wednesday, Emile had not been found, and police were preparing to call off the physical search. They initially did not believe he was kidnapped but had simply walked away. But now, after searching every building in town and the surrounding countryside, they are planning to check the phone and vehicle records of people in the region.
But at the moment, they are without clues or leads.
Chris O’Brien
Le Pecq