Why are people protesting in France – and why is there a history of rioting?
Riots have broken out in Paris and other French cities after a teenage boy was shot dead by police during a traffic stop.
Thousands of officers have been deployed and more than 100 people have been arrested as protesters clash with riot police.
President Emmanuel Macron has held an emergency security meeting to ensure “peace can return”, while French stars such as footballer Kylian Mbappe and actor Omar Sy have condemned police brutality.
Here Sky News looks at what happened and why the suburbs of French cities have a history of rioting.
France stops public transport and deploys 40,000 officers
What happened in Nanterre?
On Tuesday reports emerged of a police shooting in Nanterre – just over four miles north west of Paris.
Video footage, which has since been widely circulated online, shows two armed police officers stopping a yellow car.
They lean into the driver’s window with their guns before the vehicle pulls away and one of the officers fires towards it. A separate clip shows the car crashed into a post nearby.
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Sky News Europe correspondent Adam Parsons reports from Nanterre
The Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed the victim was a 17-year-old boy, who has been named locally as Nahel M.
He died at the scene and the officer involved is being held in custody on suspicion of voluntary homicide, they said.
His mother appeared in a video on Instagram alongside an anti-police brutality activist, saying: “I have lost a child of 17 years old. They took my baby. He was still a child. He needs his mother.
“This morning, he said: ‘Mum, I love you’. I said: ‘Be careful’.”
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Video shows moment of police shooting on Tuesday
The victim has been named locally as Nahel, 17
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Eyewitness: Anger and anarchy have taken grip
In the aftermath, people took to the streets of Nanterre to protest, setting cars alight and throwing stones and fireworks at police – who responded with tear gas.
Buildings, including schools, town halls and the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics in nearby Seine-Saint-Denis, were also set on fire.
Firefighters try to contain car fires in Nanterre
Protesters let off fireworks, Pic:AP
The violence has spread to other Parisian suburbs (banlieues) and cities elsewhere in France – from Toulouse to Dijon and Lille.
Police say 150 people have been arrested – more than half in the greater Paris region.
So far 40,000 police officers have been deployed to tackle unrest nationwide – including 5,000 in Paris.
Why is there a history of rioting in France’s suburbs?
Asked about the incident during a visit to Marseille on Wednesday, Mr Macron was quick to condemn the police’s actions, describing them as “inexplicable and unforgivable”. “Nothing can justify the death of a young person,” he said.
As he tries to manage the violent aftermath of the boy’s death, he will be all too aware of the heavily-entrenched tensions that lie behind it.
Dr Itay Lotem, senior lecturer in French studies at the University of Westminster, describes this week’s events as “nearly well-rehearsed”.
“A police officer kills a teenager from one of the underprivileged communities around Paris, triggering ripples of anger,” he says.
“Groups of disaffected youth take to the streets of the banlieue and target symbols of the state, whether police stations or schools.”
The origins of the ‘banlieue’ stem back to the years following the Second World War, when the French government began to provide social housing en masse. This resulted in thousands of tower blocks being built on the periphery of French cities between 1945 and 1975.
They were originally designed for lower-middle class families who commuted for work. But in the 1970s amid high unemployment and racial tensions following the Algerian War and the end of French colonialism, they became increasingly occupied by low-income, immigrant communities.
Underfunded by successive governments with poor quality housing and job prospects, they were labelled “problem” or “high-risk” areas.
Crime was high and young people on the streets would often clash with police, who had a reputation for a brutal, zero-tolerance policy of unrest.
A burnt out car in Nanterre
Damage to a local police station
‘Clean out the estates’
The first ‘banlieue’ riot was in 1979 in the Lyon suburb of Vaulx-en-Velin, which broke out after a local teenager of North African descent was arrested.
The most notable, however, came in 2005 and lasted for three weeks. It started in Clichy-sous-Bois, north of Paris, when two youths were electrocuted and died as they tried to evade police.
A state of emergency was declared after protesters burnt down buildings and set fire to cars.
A burnt out van in Clichy-sous-Bois near Paris in 2005
Nicolas Sarkozy meets French riot police in Perpignan southern France in 2005
Future President Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister, inflamed tensions by vowing to “clean out the estates with a Karcher” (a brand of pressure washer) and using the words “yobs” and “trash”.
These tensions “have only been amplified” by the far-right since then, Dr Lotem adds, particularly the National Front, which began achieving electoral success in the early 2000s.
The daughter of its founder, Marine Le Pen, who rebranded the party National Rally in 2018, has described Mr Macron’s condemnation of the police this week as “excessive” and “irresponsible”, saying he should “let them do their job”.
Although the 2005 violence sent shockwaves around the country and triggered a wave of reform programmes in the banlieues, repeated incidences of rioting suggest little has changed since then.
“When many rioters today claim they are not heard, they address 2005 as a moment after which nothing changed,” Dr Lotem says.
And for teenagers who do not remember 2005, “the frustration with the state has been nurtured through the politics of the post-2005 era”, he adds.
How is the government responding?
Leading an emergency security meeting on Thursday, Emmanuel Macron described this week’s “acts of violence… against a police station, schools, city halls” as “totally unjustifiable”.
But he insisted there must be “remembrance and respect” to the victim’s family and his community, particularly during the silent march that took place in Nanterre on Thursday.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said police seen in the video circulated “clearly don’t respect the rules of engagement of our security forces” and she hopes “calm will prevail over anger”.
People march through Nanterre in memory of Nahel
Initially, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described the footage of the incident as “shocking”, but in response to the rioting he said: “The state must be firm in its response.”
Dr Lotem says that although politicians want to appear sympathetic, there is still widespread distrust among the communities involved.
“The main bone of contention is the perception of the state as the main facilitator of police violence,” he says.
French President Emmanuel Macron on his visit to Marseille this week
He points to the 2017 law – passed in the aftermath of the 2015 terror attacks in Paris – which gives the police more rights to use lethal force in the face of perceived threats.
According to French journalist and researcher Sihame Assbague, at least 40 people die during police interventions in France every year.
A police spokesperson confirmed that this week’s shooting is the third fatal one during a traffic stop so far this year. Last year the figure was 13 – an all-time record.
World
Trump ‘thinking’ of going to Turkey for proposed Zelenskyy-Putin talks – as Russia silent on attending
Donald Trump has said he is “thinking” of going to Turkey on Thursday for potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia’s leaders.
The US president, who previously claimed he could end the conflict in a day, has pushed for both sides to meet to bring the fighting to an end.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy called out Vladimir Putin to meet him on Thursday in Istanbul, but the Kremlin leader has yet to respond.
Speaking late on Monday, Mr Trump said: “I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I am going be on Thursday.
“I’ve got so many meetings.
“There’s a possibility there I guess, if I think things can happen.”
Mr Trump has headed to the Middle East this week on the first major foreign trip of his second administration, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Mr Zelenskyy backed the prospect of Mr Trump attending the talks.
He said: “I supported President Trump with the idea of direct talks with Putin. I have openly expressed my readiness to meet.
“And of course, all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Turkey.”
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Trump 100: Could Putin, Zelenskyy and Trump really meet?
Russia playing for time?
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking on Monday, refused to say who, if anyone, would be travelling to Turkey from the Russian side.
“Overall, we’re determined to seriously look for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement. That is all,” Mr Peskov said.
This came after the “coalition of the willing”, including Sir Keir Starmer, threatened Russia with fresh sanctions if it failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Russia effectively rejected this proposal, instead calling for direct negotiations in Istanbul with Ukraine, at which Mr Zelenskyy challenged Mr Putin to make the trip himself.
Despite Russia’s claims towards wanting peace, Ukraine’s allies remained deeply sceptical about prospects for talks and whether Mr Putin was serious.
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European Union commission vice president Kaja Kallas said: “We want to see that Russia also wants peace.
“It takes two to want peace, it takes only one to want war, and we see that Russia clearly wants war.”
Meanwhile, Russia continued its nightly attacks on Ukraine.
Overnight into Tuesday, Ukraine said Moscow launched more than 100 drones.
It has been an extraordinary few hours which may well set the tone for a hugely consequential week ahead.
In the time that it took me to fly from London to Saudi Arabia, where President Donald Trump will begin a pivotal Middle East tour this week, a flurry of news has emerged on a range of key global challenges.
• On the Gaza war: The Trump administration has confirmed it’s holding talks with Hamas, which says it will release a hostage amid renewed hopes of a ceasefire.
• On the Ukraine war: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul – this announcement came minutes after Trump urged Zelenskyy to agree to the meeting.
• On the China-US trade war: The White House says the two countries have agreed to a “trade deal”. China said the talks, in Geneva, were “candid, in-depth and constructive”.
All three of these developments represent dramatic shifts in three separate challenges and hint at the remarkable influence the US president is having globally.
This sets the ground for what could be a truly consequential week for Trump’s presidency and his ability to effect change.
With his unique style, Trump is seeking to align numerous stars as he embarks on his first foreign diplomatic trip of his second presidency.
For days, it’s been unclear how the week ahead would unfold and which global challenge would be dominant.
The Saudi government has been instrumental as a broker in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and Qatar has been a mediator in the Gaza war.
Trump will visit both countries this week.
President Donald Trump on Air Force One earlier this month. File pic: AP
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Putin under pressure?
On Ukraine, Putin held a late-night news conference at the Kremlin on Saturday at which he made the surprise proposal of talks with Zelenskyy in Istanbul this Thursday.
But he rejected European and US calls for an immediate ceasefire.
The move was widely interpreted as a delay tactic.
Trump then issued a social media post urging Zelenskyy to accept the Russian proposal; effectively to call Putin’s bluff.
The American president wrote: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly! I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”
Within minutes, Zelenskyy responded, agreeing to the talks.
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The prospect of Putin and Zelenskyy together in Istanbul on Thursday is remarkable.
It raises the possibility that Trump would want to be there too.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomes other world leaders to Kyiv. Pic: Presidential Office of Ukraine/dpa/AP Images
Israel’s war in Gaza
On Gaza, it’s been announced that US envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in Israel on Monday to finalise details for the release of Idan Alexander, an Israeli-American hostage being held by Hamas.
The development comes after it was confirmed that Mr Witkoff has been holding discussions with Israel, Qatar and Egypt and, through them, with Hamas.
The talks focused on a possible Gaza hostage deal and larger peace discussions for a ceasefire.
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Gaza after around a year and a half of Israeli attacks. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Just days ago, Israel announced a new military plan to move back into Gaza.
When do candid talks become a trade deal?
Meanwhile, officials from the United States and China have been holding talks in Geneva, Switzerland, to resolve their trade war, which was instigated by Trump’s tariffs against China.
Late on Sunday evening, the White House released a statement claiming that a trade deal had been struck.
In a written statement, titled “U.S. Announces China Trade Deal in Geneva”, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said: “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks… We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive. We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning.”
Beijing Global Times newspaper quoted the Chinese vice premier as saying that the talks were candid, in-depth and constructive.
However, the Chinese fell short of calling it a trade deal.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
A Qatari gift
In a separate development, US media reports say that Qatar is preparing to gift Trump a Boeing 747 from its royal fleet, which he would use as a replacement for the existing and aging Air Force One plane.
The Qatari government says no deal has been finalised, but the development is already causing controversy because of the optics of accepting gifts of this value.
Of all the fronts in Donald Trump’s trade war, none was as dramatic and economically threatening as the sky-high tariffs he imposed on China.
There are a couple of reasons: first, because China is and was the single biggest importer of goods into the US and, second, because of the sheer height of the tariffs imposed by the White House in recent months.
In short, tariffs of over 100% were tantamount to a total embargo on goods coming from the United States’ main trading partner. That would have had enormous economic implications, not just for the US but every other country around the world (these are the world’s biggest and second-biggest economies, after all).
Trump latest: US and China slash tariffs in trade war de-escalation
So the truce announced on Monday by treasury secretary Scott Bessent is undoubtedly a very big deal indeed.
In short, China will still face an extra 30% tariffs (the 20% levies cast as punishment for China’s involvement in fentanyl imports and the 10% “floor” set on “Liberation Day”) on top of the residual 10% average from the Biden era.
But the rest of the extra tariffs will be paused for 90 days. China, in turn, has suspended its own retaliatory tariffs on the US.
The market has responded as you would probably have expected, with share prices leaping in relief. But that raises a question: is the trade war now over? Now that the two sides have blinked, can globalisation continue more or less as it had before?
That, it turns out, is a trickier and more complex question than it might first seem.
Pic: AP
For one thing, even if one were to assume this is a permanent truce rather than a suspended one, it still leaves tariffs considerably higher than they were only last year. And China faces tariffs far higher than most other countries (tot up the existing ones and the Trump era ones and China faces average tariffs of around 40%, while the average for most countries is between 8% and 14%, according to Capital Economics).
In other words, the US is still implementing an economic policy designed to increase the cost of doing business with China, even if it no longer attempts to prevent it altogether. The fact that last week’s trade agreement with the UK contains clauses seemingly designed to encourage it to raise trade barriers against China for reasons of “security” only reinforces this suspicion. The trade war is still simmering, even if it’s no longer as hot as it was a few days ago.
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And more broadly, the deeper impact of the trade rollercoaster in recent months is unlikely to disappear altogether. Companies remain more nervous about investing in factories and expansions in the face of such deep economic instability. No-one is entirely sure the White House won’t just U-turn once again.
That being said, it’s hard not to escape the conclusion that the US president has blinked in this trade war. In the face of a potential recession, he has pulled back from the scariest and most damaging of his tariffs, earlier and to a greater extent than many had expected.
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