NANTERRE, France (AP) 鈥 The race of the police officer who fatally shot a French teenager during a traffic stop last week hasn鈥檛 been disclosed, and there鈥檚 no reason why it would be. Officially, race doesn鈥檛 exist in France.
But the death of the with North African roots, which sent rioters into the streets, has again exposed deep feelings about systemic racism under the surface of the country鈥檚 ideal of colorblind equality.
With his killing captured on video, what could be seen as has produced a very French national discussion that leaves out what many Americans would consider the essential point: color.
One can鈥檛 address race, much less racism, if it doesn鈥檛 exist, according to French policy. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nunez, said Sunday he was shocked by the U.N. human rights office鈥檚 use of the term 鈥渞acism鈥 in its criticism of French law enforcement. The police have none of it, he said.
France, especially white France, doesn鈥檛 tend to frame discussion of discrimination and inequality in black-and-white terms. Some French consider it racist to even discuss skin color. No one knows how many people of various races live in the country, as such data is not recorded.
鈥淭hey say we are all French 鈥 so for them, it鈥檚 racist to do something like that,鈥 said Iman Essaifi, a 25-year-old resident of Nanterre, the Paris suburb where the teen, Nahel Merzouk, was killed.
While the subject of race remains taboo, Essaifi believes the events of the past week were a step toward speaking more openly about it. She noted that the people who marched in the streets of Nanterre after Nahel鈥檚 death were 鈥渘ot necessarily Arabs, not necessarily Blacks. There were whites, there were the 鈥榲rai Francais,鈥欌 鈥 the 鈥渞eal French.鈥
France鈥檚 Constitution says the French Republic and its values are considered universal, meaning that all citizens have the same rights regardless of origin, race or religion.
Trying to discuss racial inequality without mentioning race leads to some linguistic gymnastics. Instead of terms like Black or mixed-race neighborhoods, French people instead often speak of 鈥渃ommunities鈥 or 鈥渂anlieues鈥 (suburbs) and 鈥渜uartiers鈥 (neighborhoods). They鈥檙e widely understood to mean often disadvantaged urban areas of housing projects and large immigrant populations.
Amid the unrest after Nahel鈥檚 death, such nonspecific language has ranged from supportive to insulting. Nanterre鈥檚 mayor, Patrick Jarry, spoke on Monday of the suburb 鈥渋n all its diversity.鈥 A statement last week by a large police union, the Alliance Police 香港六合彩挂牌资料e, described the rioters as 鈥渧ermin.鈥
Of course there鈥檚 racism in France, some people said.
鈥淔or example, if your parents come from another country, even you are poorly accepted,鈥 said Stella Assi, a 17-year-old born in Paris who was passing by the city hall in Nanterre. 鈥淚f I were white, that wouldn鈥檛 happen.鈥
The 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Consultative Commission on Human Rights in its annual report to the government this week said racism is still 鈥渓argely estimated and largely under-reported.鈥
France鈥檚 legacy of colonialism, largely in Africa and the Caribbean, plays out in some attitudes that continue generations later. More recently, migration has caused debate and division. The result is that openly addresses certain issues around race, but not necessarily in relation to its citizens鈥 daily lives.
On Wednesday, for example, a court in France is scheduled to review a request for reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. And on a notice board in Nanterre, now scrawled with graffiti saying 鈥淐ops, get out of our lives,鈥 a city hall announcement from May advertised a ceremony commemorating the abolition of slavery.
Ahmed Djamai, 58, the president of an organization in Nanterre that connects youth with work opportunities, recalled being recently and asked for his residence permit. He was born in France.
鈥淥ur second-, third- and fourth-generation children face the same problem when they go out to get a job,鈥 he said. 鈥淧eople lump them together with things that happen in the suburbs. They鈥檙e not accepted. So, to date, the problem is social, but it鈥檚 also one of identity.鈥
The stunning procession of hundreds of men who walked from a mosque in Nanterre to the cemetery for Nahel鈥檚 burial stood out in France not only because many were Black or Arab, but because even the demonstration of religious identity can be sensitive. In addition to being officially colorblind, France is officially secular, too.
Some people with immigrant roots fear that France鈥檚 success stories of generations of assimilation under that policy are being lost amid the rioting and criticism.
Gilles Djeyaramane is a municipal councilor , a town west of Paris. His French-born wife is of Madagascan origin. He was born in French Guiana, of parents from India, and moved to France when he was 18.
鈥淚鈥檓 always saying to my children, 'Your mom and dad would never have met if France didn鈥檛 exist,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not at all utopian. I know there鈥檚 work to do in some areas. But we are on the right path.鈥
Those who knew Nahel, and some who identify with him, said it鈥檚 not fair to pretend that differences, and discrimination, don鈥檛 exist. With anger, some pointed out that a funding campaign for the family of the police officer accused of shooting Nahel already topped 1 million euros ($1.09 million).
The frustration and violence in many communities come from other issues as well, including the rising cost of living and policing in general. In 2021, Amnesty International and five other rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit against the French state alleging ethnic profiling by police during ID checks.
Dozens of organizations and political parties are calling for 鈥渃itizens' marches鈥 on Saturday across France to call for police reforms, saying that long-running tensions between officers and the people are part of a history of 鈥渟ystematic racism that runs through society at large.鈥
Police officers reject accusations that some single out people because of their color. Officer Walid Hrar, who is of Moroccan descent and Muslim, said that if it sometimes seems that people of color are stopped more than others, it鈥檚 a reflection of the mixed-race density of populations in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.
In rural France, with fewer people with immigrant backgrounds, police also stop people but 鈥渢hey are called Fran莽ois, Paul and Pierre and Jacques,鈥 Hrar said.
But Mariam Lambert, a 39-year-old who said Nahel was a friend of her son, stressed the pressure of feeling that she and others, including fellow Muslims, had to muffle their identity.
鈥淚f I put a scarf on my head 鈥 they would see me as from another world, and everything would change for me,鈥 said Lambert, who thinks she would be insulted in the streets. She spoke on the margins of a gathering at Nanterre city hall as events were held there and across France on Monday in support of authorities and a return to calm.
Lambert mused about moving to Morocco if France doesn鈥檛 change. 鈥淭here are plenty of people leaving,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ecause who protects us from the police?鈥
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John Leicester and Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report from Paris.
