Time to repeal the draconian France law
France burned for the sixth successive day on Sunday after a video of a policeman shooting dead a teenager behind the wheel of a car went viral. The gun-toting cop pulled the trigger from point-blank range as the driver apparently disobeyed orders to halt. While the teen, identified as Nahel M, of Algerian descent, appeared to be in conflict with the law, the public anger was because of the disproportionate response of the police to the crime.
Resentment against unequal treatment of the poor and black, mostly with African and Arabian roots, had been brewing for years. It found expression in the riots that followed. Angry youth hit the streets, burning cars and other vehicles, attacking schools, hospitals, town halls and police stations, looting stores and spreading mayhem. They also tried to burn a mayor’s house and terrorised his family. French President Emmanuel Macron did the tightrope walk politicians are adept at, calling Nahel’s murder inexcusable while describing the mob violence as completely unjustified. Tens of thousands of security personnel have since been deployed to restore peace and tranquillity. Since Nahel’s funeral is over, authorities hope to get the situation under control. By the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France as chief guest for the Bastille Day parade on July 14, one hopes the situation will become fully normal.
As in most European nations, France is struggling to integrate its immigrant population, estimated at 10.3% as of 2021. Most of them hail from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. They contribute in a big way to the nation’s workforce and make their presence felt with their sparkling football talent, but they are still seen as suspects by law enforcement agencies. Other countries like the UK have raised barriers to illegal immigrants, flying them off to Rwanda on a one-way ticket, which was just declared unlawful by a court. No country has yet found a satisfactory humane solution to managing the refugee crisis.
The trigger-happy policeman in France had the law on his side as a 2017 amendment gave him the licence to kill if the driver or the occupants of a flagged-down vehicle fail to stop and are deemed a threat to the cop. This was the third such killing in a year at traffic halts; there were 13 similar incidents last year. This draconian law deserves to be repealed forthwith.