The week-long unrest in France that was brought on by the fatal police shooting of Nahel, a 17-year-old who was later buried amid violent protests, has since subsided, but the scale of the protests has raised concerns about the country's unequal racial makeup, its economic integration policy, the brutality and bias of the police, and its inequitable national and housing policies.

The protests that have followed the death of Nahel, a teenager of Algerian descent, have once more brought attention to the severe racial tensions that exist in modern France and raised criticism of the police, who are frequently accused of singling out minorities. Between Sunday and Monday, 297 vehicles and 34 buildings, many of which were connected to the government, were assaulted around France.

The crisis is a very unwelcome development for President Emmanuel Macron, who was eager to move forward with his second term after putting an end to months of protests that began in January over raising the pension age.

A nation of immigrants

France has long been a nation of immigrants and has taken in several waves of foreigners, unlike many of its European neighbors. A minimum of 23% of French citizens claimed to be of foreign descent in 1999. At least five percent of the people in this group were of sub-Saharan African descent, 22% were from the Maghreb, and 2.4% were from Turkey. Between 4 and 5 million people, or around 30% of French citizens of foreign ancestry, belonged to those groups collectively. The largest Muslim and Jewish minorities in all of Europe can be found in France today.

As a result, France faces much greater integration challenges than other European nations. This is especially true given that the majority of immigrants who came to France as workers in the 1960s and 1970s and their families who joined them between the 1970s and the present are from rural areas and have limited educational backgrounds. A growing sense of alienation may be seen among them as they struggle to integrate into French society at a slower pace. However, this in no way suggests that integration efforts are being stymied. Children of immigrants, for instance, perform equally well in school as French children from the same socioeconomic bracket. However, because immigrants make up a disproportionately large fraction of the poorer classes, their children perform worse than children from French homes in absolute terms.

Religious and racial diversity

France, one of the most racially and religiously diverse nations in Europe with sizable communities of Muslims, Jews, and Roma, has long grappled with severe tensions brought on by injustice and cultural phobias. Right-wing political parties' explosive growth in recent years has highlighted the country's social divisions. The right-wingers gained popularity and support precisely because they made anti-Muslim narratives, fueling a divisive attitude toward issues relating to immigration, diversity, and religion, particularly Islam. The anti-European Union and anti-diversity theme nearly defeated the coalition of President Francois Macron in the European elections in May 2019.  

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Minority woes

Major factors in the persistence of this division include the spatial and social segregation of many minorities in France, particularly the disenfranchised Muslim minority. Studies show that some ethnic groups, especially those of African ancestry, find it difficult to leave underdeveloped suburbs and are three times more likely to settle in underdeveloped neighborhoods. Spatial segregation affects unemployment, which further increases hurdles to work for people of North African heritage, due to the much longer commutes that freshly arrived immigrants must do. These metropolitan fringes' securitization, high unemployment rates, and housing shortage are all signs of the inequality in Paris' banlieues. Although there hasn't been as much turmoil as there was during the 2005 riots, crime in the banlieues is still a significant concern.

As a result, the government has made significant expenditures in disadvantaged areas and given priority to integrating immigrants and their children into French society. The government's relentless assimilation policy and France's secular political history may have prevented the state from addressing prejudice and, in the process, alienated some minorities, according to studies on the social exclusion of immigrants in France.

For example, several rights groups have criticized France's law banning the wearing of full facial coverings, because it limited opportunities for "living together" as a breach of the freedoms of religion and expression.

Burqa, hijab, and full-face veil bans, as well as right-wing politician-led local ordinances that forbade pork-free food on school menus, have all been generally regarded as actions primarily targeted against Muslims.

Islamophobia

Though some of the general public's hostility toward French Muslims has been stoked by worries about the so-called "Islamization" of France, some violent episodes in Paris and elsewhere have also contributed to the rise in anti-Muslim sentiment. This included shootings that left a total of 17 people dead in the city's eastern suburbs on January 9, 2015, as well as an attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris on January 7, 2015, allegedly in retaliation for the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

In November 2015, a series of coordinated suicide bombings and shootings that targeted cafes, restaurants, a music venue, and the vicinity of the Stade de France stadium left 130 people dead and more than 350 injured. These attacks were among the worst the country had seen in many years, but they were followed by an even bloodier attack. After the incident, hate crimes against Muslims dramatically increased, despite the government's declaration of a national emergency and significant expansion of its power to search and jail citizens.

The Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de L'Homme (CNCDH, National Consultative Commission on Human Rights) reports that following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, there were 429 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015, more than triple the number from 2014. Recent data reveals a decline in anti-Muslim hate crimes; for instance, 100 incidents were reported in 2018. However, Islamophobia is still a significant issue. Because people do not think that the government will intervene on their behalf, there is a significant underreporting of occurrences, according to organizations that fight Islamophobia.

What needs to be done?

A method for compiling information on the ethnic makeup of the French population should be taken into consideration by the government. The challenges in combatting racism and racial discrimination in France are exacerbated by the lack of comprehensive information regarding the magnitude of these societal issues. Among other legislative modifications to address race and ethnicity, the US Civil Rights Movement achieved two policy successes with the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If race is not a distinct category, France's anti-discrimination legislation will remain ineffectual. To avoid legitimizing inequality and division, French policy officially ignores race; nonetheless, it is clear that this has not had the desired outcome.

France must also acknowledge and defend the status of its varied population. Through greater participation in the government, arts, and entertainment, racial and ethnic minorities will become more visible in mainstream French society. A prominent example is Christiane Taubira, a former justice minister who was born in French Guiana's overseas territory. It's crucial to remember, though, that as her prominence in national politics grew, she came in contact with racist remarks.

Islamophobia and racism are commonly linked, thus the French government needs to address specific instances of Islamophobia and work toward integrating its Muslim residents into French culture. Another problem that the French government needs to address is the normalization of police harassment and identity checks by the police, which can be fatal. The Gilets Jaunes or Yellow Vests movement has brought attention to police brutality and abuse through its protests. But this violence, which mainly targets Black and Maghrebin people, has always been a problem.