While the subject of race remains taboo, Essaifi believes the events of the past week were a small step towards speaking more openly about it. Essaifi, 25, resides in Nanterre, the Paris suburb where Nahel was killed. “They say we are all French … so for them, it’s racist to do something like that,” Iman Essaifi said by way of explanation. No one knows how many people of various races, cultures or religions live in the country, because such data cannot be recorded.
#Color me shocked in france skin#
Some French consider it racist to even discuss skin colour. Read more Teen’s killing raises a French policing issue that dare not be named Is it racist to speak of race?įrance, especially White France, doesn’t tend to frame discussions of discrimination and inequality in Black-and-White terms.
Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez said on Sunday that he was shocked by the UN human rights office’s use of the term “racism” in its criticism of French law enforcement. One cannot address race – much less racism – if French policies pointedly refuse to acknowledge its existence. With his death captured on video, what could be seen as France’s “ George Floyd moment” has produced a very French national discussion that leaves out what many would consider an essential and incontestable point: race. But this version of events was contradicted by a video that quickly went viral on social media and was later authenticated by AFP. Police initially reported that the officer shot Nahel because the teenager was driving his car straight at them.
The death of French-born Nahel M., a 17-year-old boy with Moroccan-Algerian roots, has again exposed the deep resentments about systemic racism that lie just under the surface of the country’s ideal of colourblind equality. Such “ communitarianisme” is frowned upon and any “ostentatious” displays of religious affiliation – like the Muslim veil – are outlawed in public buildings, including government offices and schools.īut in reality, some French are more French than others. The race of the police officer who fatally shot a French teenager during a traffic stop last week has not been made public, and there’s no reason why it would be: officially, race does not exist in France.įrench authorities are prohibited from collecting statistics on race or religion, part of France’s deep commitment to secularism ( laïcité), which holds that all French are equally French and discourages adherence to any subgroups whose cultural identities might eclipse one’s Frenchness.
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