Source: BFM TV, LCI
There has been lots of commentary on the similarities and differences between the current riots in France and those of 2005. Then, as now, riots were sparked by deaths of young men from the suburbs of Paris. In 2005, it was the deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré. In 2023, it was 17-year-old Nahel M.
One of the other major differences is the tone of the debate.
In 2005, politics in France was dominated by the centre-right UMP party and the centre-left Parti Socialiste (PS). While the Front National, as it was back then, was an important force (Jean-Marie Le Pen had made it to the second round of the presidential contest three years earlier after all), it was still seen as more of a marginal voice.
Of course, even in 2005, the debate had its inflammatory moments. Who can forget then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy referring to the rioters as racaille (variously translated in English as rabble, trash and scum) and using the analogy of a high-pressure water hose to sweep them away. Overall though, the calming influence of President Chirac set the tone.
In 2023, the successor to the UMP, Les Républicains (LR), and the much-diminished PS are almost inaudible. The LR leader, Eric Ciotti, who sits to the right of the party, got some headlines early on when he called for an immediate state of emergency. On the left, virtually nothing. Even Anne Hidalgo, the 2022 PS presidential candidate and current mayor of Paris, who therefore has some skin in the game, has been virtually invisible. Instead, those who are shouting the loudest are those on the far-right and the far-left.
On the right are Eric Zemmour, the author and journalist turned politician, and the Rassemblement National (RN), whose response is being led by its young president, Jordan Bardella.
On the left is La France Insoumise (LFI), personified by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and a handful of its most prominent spokespeople, including Mathilde Panot and François Ruffin.
As a result, the discussion in the media has become heavily polarised. Those on the far right condemn the violence, support the police and demand tough action. Those on the far left highlight the plight of those living in the suburbs, attack police violence and refuse to condemn the rioters.
As for the government, they have the rabbit-in-the-headlights look of a group of people overwhelmed by events. Elisabeth Borne has been living on borrowed time as prime minister for months and can add this to the list of crises she’s had to deal with. Tough-talking interior minister Gérald Darmanin has done his best to support the police while presumably keeping an eye on how this might play out for his own presidential ambitions. After all, Sarkozy's tough talk back in 2005 is credited as one of the things that helped build his profile and get him to the Elysée two years later.
Meanwhile, President Macron seems to keep shifting position in an attempt to calm things down and offer solutions. He started out with a condemnation of the police officer who appeared to shoot Nahel M before then moving on to criticise those rioting and blaming everything from video games to poor parenting. Radical solutions so far include shutting down social media networks when things heat up.
While the shouting continues, there has been little discussion of the root causes that lead to these events. Perhaps that's understandable. Cool heads can be hard to keep when times are tough. Indeed, deeper analysis of what's been happening is more often found in the foreign media where commentators have some distance from what's going on.
In the meantime, many French people, who have seen these scenes played out many times before, watch an endless blame game which is unlikely to produce any real results. The sequence of events is predictable. The breathless news coverage will continue until things have died down. There will likely follow a special commission and some kind of ‘listening exercise’ that will produce a set of recommendations. Sadly, these will probably go nowhere and will be quietly forgotten about until things flare up again. There's precedent for this. Back in 2018, former minister Jean-Louis Borloo produced a substantial report that set out to tackle the problem of the suburbs with 19 dedicated programmes of action. While it was generally warmly received, it wasn't to the liking of President Macron and its recommendations were shelved.
Meanwhile, once the dust settles, those at the extremes will continue to profit from events. By promising toughness and a restoration of law and order, the most likely winner is Marine Le Pen and the Rassemblement National. The party’s strategy has been carefully calibrated. While party president, Jordan Bardella, performs confidently on the airwaves, she sits quietly in the background, presidentially above it all you could say, waiting for her time to come at the next election in 2027.
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