https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/01/world-is-watching-in-disbelief-as-france-tears-itself-apart/ Jump to content UK News Website of the Year * News * Ukraine * Royals * Sports * Opinion * Travel * Life * Entertainment * Business * Puzzles [USA-SVG] US Edition * [UK-SVG] UK Edition Subscribe now Free for one month Log in Sections [USA-SVG] US Edition * [UK-SVG] UK Edition * News + News home + UK news + Politics + World + Health + Defence + Science + Education + Environment + Investigations + Global Health Security * Sport + Sport home + The Ashes + Football + Tennis + F1 + Golf + Rugby Union + Women's Sport + Racing + Boxing + Cycling + More... * Business + Business home + Alex + Economy + Companies + Markets + Tech * Opinion + Opinion home + Obituaries + Letters to the Editor + Telegraph View + Our columnists + Cartoons + * Ukraine + Ukraine home + Daily podcast + Daily newsletter * Money + Money home + Investing + Property + Pensions + Banking + Tax + Insurance + Bills and utilities + Financial Solutions + More... * Royals + Royals home + King Charles III + Queen Camilla + Prince William + Princess of Wales + Prince Harry + Duchess of Sussex + * Life + Life home + Family + Columnists + Cookbook + Food & Drink + Health & Fitness + Tel Mag + Cars + Puzzle News + Gardening + Recommended * Style + Style home + Fashion + Beauty + Luxury + Interiors + Weddings * Travel + Travel home + UK holidays + Dream Trips + Destinations + City guides + Hotels + Cruises + Rail + Adventure + Luxury + Ask the experts + * Culture + Culture home + TV + Film + Music + Books + Theatre + Opera + Art + Gaming + Hit lists + Telegraph Tickets + More... * Puzzles * [USA-SVG] US Edition + [UK-SVG] UK Edition Subscribe now Free for one month Log in Follow us on: * * * * * * More from The Telegraph * Download our app * Newsletters * Telegraph Extra * Wine Cellar * Recommended * Financial Solutions * Events * Betting * Dating * Offers * Shop * Garden shop * Bookshop * Tickets * Puzzles * Fantasy Football * Work at The Telegraph * Telegraph Corporate * Help and support * Broadband and Mobile Deals * Voucher codes See top shops + Samsung + Nike + ASOS + eBay + Currys + Wayfair + TUI + JD Sports + Travelodge + Adidas + Broadband deals + Cheap broadband + Broadband in my area + Broadband and TV deals + Mobile deals + SIM-only deals Comment The world is watching in disbelief as France tears itself apart Anne-Elisabeth Moutet 1 July 2023 * 7:29pm Anne-Elisabeth Moutet A man and a woman cross the street as police officers move in on protesters Macron is losing control of France. Thousands of arrests. Torched schools, community centres, city halls, sports complexes, post offices. Looting ranging from Lidl supermarkets to Apple Stores. Gendarmes and special forces brought in to patrol the streets at night, in addition to the beleaguered police force. Rising anger among shopkeepers clamouring for a curfew "or we'll take matters into our hands". And, after five days' rioting across France, a rising sentiment that the current situation is largely the result of almost a quarter century of craven governments neglecting essential law and order. The viral video of a 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk seemingly listening to the policemen who stopped him in the street only to be shot point-blank, shocked a majority of France - not just the residents of the country's ethnically diverse banlieues such as the one he lived and died in. The 6,000-strong march reacting to it the following day, calling for "justice", was equally seen as perfectly legitimate -- until it escalated disastrously, in all-too-familiar fashion. Rioting, incendiary accusations (of state racism, that "they" want to kill "us") and then literally incendiary acts: arson, senseless vandalism and destruction, from bus stop shelters to rows of shops, kindergartens, social housing. And theft, everywhere, of private and public property; indiscriminate; from a six-pack of semi-skimmed milk to watches, jewellery, Nike shoes, baby buggies. When the riots broke out, I was at the Tocqueville Conversations, a conference on the Ukraine-Russian conflict. There eastern Europeans - Poles, Ukrainians, emigre Russians, together with Brits and French and Americans and Spaniards - watched in increasing disbelief such wanton destruction perpetrated in a country at peace. "They're destroying the social compact which is essential for democracy", Slawomir Debski, the noted Polish historian and geostrategist, mused. We had been discussing the cost to Europe of rebuilding post-war Ukraine: the French among us started worrying about the cost of rebuilding parts of Marseille, Lens, Bordeaux, Paris. Nihilistic destruction has been tolerated in France for something like a quarter century. It started around the millennium, under the Chirac presidency. Increasingly, the tail-end of demonstrations and marches - an old French tradition, codified and regulated (you need to declare your traditional May Day march or political demo to the Prefecture, complete with itinerary, timing and so on) started being disrupted by looters soon known as "casseurs", because they broke shop windows as well as the stuff they could not steal. Police engaged less and less with them, mostly to avoid accusations of systemic brutality -- until, exhausted, they hit back strongly, triggering a new cycle of catch-up brutality and repression. If this sounds like bad policing, it's because it is: the flics, too, badly paid and badly trained, are deeply demoralised by such inconsistent stop-and-go practices. By 2005, the cycle had gotten completely out of hand. The death of two young men, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traore, who attempted to hide from police in a high-voltage electric transformer, and died electrocuted, triggered week-long riots. By then both narratives were entrenched, ready for use when US-inspired activists decided to recast France's complex attitudes to ethnicity and citizenship into simplistic American ones. President Emmanuel Macron is aware of the Black Lives Matter/George Floyd scenario. This is why he dithered: having waited three full days before sending out the gendarmerie, at the time of writing, he was still hesitant to impose a curfew or get the Army to patrol the streets. Meanwhile the situation shows little sign of abating: le President has had to cancel his state visit to Germany tomorrow. Control is rapidly slipping from his hands. Related Topics * France, * Riots, * Emmanuel Macron, * Paris * * * * Show comments You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Subscribe Log in Comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Read our community guidelines in full here. 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Not even the Tories can defend it Nick Timothy Nick Timothy 2 Jul 2023, 9:30pm Canary Wharf More from The Telegraph Back to top Follow us on: * * * * * * * Help Centre * About us * Telegraph Extra * Reader Prints * Branded Content * Syndication and Commissioning * Guidelines * Privacy * Terms and Conditions * Advertising Terms * Fantasy Sport * UK Voucher Codes * Betting Offers * Modern Slavery * Tax Strategy * Broadband and Mobile Deals * Wine Cellar * * (c) Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023