Unrest gripped France last week following the fatal shooting of a teenager by police during a traffic stop in Paris. The incident occurred in the working-class suburb of Nanterre, where Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old citizen of Algerian and Moroccan descent, was shot after allegedly failing to comply with a police order to stop.
Nahel's death ignited a wave of discontent among impoverished and ethnically diverse urban communities in France, who have long been concerned about police violence and allegations of systemic racism. Despite authorities banning protests in Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier, Grenoble, and Annecy, unauthorized gatherings and riots persisted. More than 45,000 police officers were deployed throughout the country to maintain order.
The aftermath of the unrest left a trail of destruction, with nearly 500 buildings damaged and over 2,000 vehicles set ablaze. In the deprived neighborhood of Borny, located in eastern France and characterized by above-average unemployment rates and a poverty rate exceeding 50%, the public library was burned down. Furthermore, numerous shops in various malls across France were subjected to looting and vandalism.
The incidents reminded of the protests occurred following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, when luxury stores were targeted during looting incidents, symbolizing the opulent establishments where ordinary individuals are unable to afford the goods sold.
The situation took a distressing turn on Saturday night when rioters in France intentionally crashed a burning car into the residence of Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, a town south of Paris. Although Jeanbrun himself was at the town hall during the incident, his wife and one of his two children, aged five and seven, sustained injuries while fleeing.
The aftermath of the unrest led to a significant number of arrests, with approximately 3,000 individuals taken into custody. The average age of those arrested was 17, as reported by France's interior ministry.
This is not the first time that riots, triggered by tragic deaths, happen in France. Back in 2005, the deaths of two young boys of African descent during a police pursuit triggered a three-week period of unrest in housing estates. Nahel's death is the third fatal shooting by police during traffic stops in France this year, and the 21st since 2020. A majority of the victims were individuals of Black or North African origin.
Criticism towards the country's police force has therefore been mounting as they face allegations of employing excessive force. Furthermore, accusations of systemic racism within the police have also been raised. In 2020, journalist Valentin Gendrot, infiltrated the French police and exposed the culture of racism and violence in his book "Flic" (Cop), describing the misconduct of a minority of police officers who act with impunity. This accident confirms that nothing has changed since then.
The 38-year-old officer involved in the shooting, who claims to have fired the shot out of fear for his own safety, that of his colleague, or others who could have been struck by the vehicle, has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in temporary custody. Prosecutors have stated that Nahel, who was not old enough to possess a full driving license in France and had a history of disregarding stop orders, had been pulled over by two motorcycle patrol police for speeding, jumping red lights, and driving in a bus lane.
In an interview on BFM TV, the grandmother of Nahel asked for an end to the violence, imploring to stop rioting, pillaging and destroying schools, shops and buses. She further noted that the rioters were merely using Nahel's tragic incident as an excuse for their actions.
While these tragic incidents are used in some cases as pretexts for riots, it is also true that racism and discrimination persist in France (but not only there...) and are exacerbated by factors such as the impact of Covid, inflation, and rising energy costs. Equal opportunities remain elusive, and individuals from certain backgrounds continue to be subjected to stereotypes.
Teenagers of Black or North African descent feel alienated, they face racial profiling during police identity checks and experience discrimination in employment and the education system. Frustration, daily injustices and lack of hope fueled their anger in last week's riots. That said, destroying their own neighborhoods is not a path to achieving justice. Engaging in looting, targeting public transportation, sports and leisure facilities, schools, and even a state-of-the-art library in the deprived neighborhood of Borny is counterproductive.
This should be a time of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction, but also a time to take stock for the French government. Despite the demolition and reconstruction of certain high-rise buildings, the persistent social issues and sense of injustice have not been resolved. Authorities attempted to address the sense of social exclusion among young people through infrastructure projects and transport networks, yet they didn't work. Architectural projects across French housing estates have attempted to mask the underlying problems, failing to address the issues of segregation, social inequality, racism, and poverty that residents continue to face on a daily basis (this point should also make architects ponder a bit more about how to play a role in rebuilding social structures rather than merely constructing buildings).
Emmanuel Macron, who assumed office as the president in 2017, has not fulfilled his promise of ending inequality. People are experiencing a sense of absence, and escaping the cycle of socioeconomic deprivation is increasingly challenging for children born in disadvantaged areas with France's education system remaining one of the most unequal among developed countries.
In the aftermath of the 2005 unrest, teenagers of Black and North African origin residing in suburban areas surrounding Paris expressed that one of the greatest injustices they faced was being steered towards technical high schools, where they received training for manual labor or lower-paid jobs, instead of attending academic high schools (lycées) that prepare students for university (this situation is not exclusive to France but also prevalent in Italy, where Black students are still rare in the local "licei").
The riots in France had an impact on fashion: Celine cancelled its spring 2024 men's show in Paris scheduled to be held at La Gaité Lyrique yesterday evening due to the ongoing unrest in the city. Posting on his personal Instagram account, Celine's creative and image director, Hedi Slimane, expressed his belief that holding a fashion show followed by a party in Paris at this time would be "inconsiderate and totally out of place." Chloé also canceled an event that had to take place last Friday due to the situation.
As the Haute Couture shows commence today, it is worth reflecting on the role of couture beyond its glamorous facade. Traditionally, Haute Couture has been seen as an experimental space, generating ideas that trickle down to other collections and even fast fashion. Despite occasional discussions questioning the necessity of Haute Couture, high fashion has always been defended as a frivolous yet essential laboratory of ideas. However, perhaps it is time to reevaluate the purpose of couture and explore its potential as a catalyst for job creation.
While beauty alone cannot solve deep-rooted social problems, couture holds the potential to provide opportunities. To achieve this, we need to shift our focus from solely catering to clients and celebrities, and instead look at the transformative power of the work carried out behind the scenes. It is essential to invest in comprehensive training programs at various levels and launch projects that promote social mobility, allowing individuals to develop their skills and pursue different careers.
The film "Haute Couture" (2021), directed by Sylvie Ohayon, inspires us a reflection: the story revolves around Esther (Nathalie Baye), the head seamstress at Dior, and Jade (Lyna Khoudri, in another fashion inspired role after "Papicha"), a tempestuous young woman whom Esther takes under her wing. These two characters come from different worlds, both in terms of their backgrounds and their strained mother-daughter relationships. Esther doesn't have a close relationship with her own daughter, while Jade's mother is melancholic and bedridden.
The world of Dior is vastly different from Jade's own experiences, and she faces judgment for her socio-economic background and immigrant identity, often being labeled as coming from the "ghetto."
The film visually captures the contrast between Esther's refined world at the Dior atelier, with its soft focus and clean lines, and Jade's gritty surroundings that reflect a different reality. However, as the story progresses, it becomes evident that both these worlds are integral parts of Paris and mutual salvation arrives when the two worlds collide and combine revealing the real soul of the French capital.
In the film Esther patiently manages to convince Jade to try working at the atelier and Jade in turns finds her vocation, and discovers her talents. It is crucial that individuals are given opportunities that are often unjustly denied to them. The tremendous anger, energy, and frustration felt by young people globally, including those in France, can be channeled into creative avenues like music, film, art, design, fashion, architecture, technology, and more.
Merely constructing buildings or revitalizing areas is insufficient without accompanying social projects. Fashion, including Haute Couture, can play a role in this transformation by offering scholarships and support, rather than solely pouring resources into extravagantly expensive runway shows. The gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen, and it is high time we start working towards closing that divide if we genuinely want to break the perpetuating cycle of riots and social unrest.
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