Riots continue in France over a police shooting...

 

A container burns in France. Reuters.

France has deployed 45,000 police to try and stem riots that have continued for three days. Reuters. Riots dominated the suburbs after a police shooting on Tuesday left a 17 year old Algerian/Moroccan dead. The officer who shot Nahel M. said the shooting death was accidental as he was aiming for his leg and was arrested for the incident. This did little to quell the riots which has seen large amounts of arson, looting and violence. It is considered the widest unrest France has seen since the yellow vest protests in 2018.

My Comment:

This is why American cops are trained to shoot to kill and not shoot if their lives aren't in danger. The officer involved in this case shot to wound and it ended up backfiring on not only him but his entire country. I'm not familiar with French laws on use of force but under American laws this would have been a bad shooting. 

With that being said, much like the various police shootings in the United States, I have next to no sympathy for the "victim" in this case. From what I understand he was a thief that was running from the police and generally being a nuisance. Should the cops have shot him? Probably not. Should we be upset about that? Not very. It certainly doesn't justify the rioting, looting and violence we are seeing in response to the shooting. 

As with all riots in France it's difficult to tell how serious these riots are. France is known to riot and protest for almost any reason, it's almost a national sport for them. The country has basically been protesting since 2018, with a brief lull during the pandemic. 

And the areas that are rioting? They tend to be the so called "no go" zones that are generally unstable anyways. France has long had a problem with people burning cars and the current wave of riots is no different. I am not surprised that they are doing this, the only real difference is the scale and the fact that it's spreading into other areas of the country. 

I also don't think that the people that are rioting are actually all that upset about the death of the 17 year old. Indeed, I think it's just like the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020 here in the United States. It's more about having a fun time, causing a ruckus and then getting away with free stuff that you loot. The shooting is just the excuse for the violence, as it was and as it will ever shall be. 

Still, the fact that Macron can't seem to get riots and disorder under control in his country is a pretty big back mark on his presidency. It's a minor miracle he is still in power given how unpopular he is and how badly his leadership has handled this particular issue. He has personally angered a lot of normal French people and it can't look good for him that the immigrant class is now running amok as well. It is amazing that he has been able to hang onto power...