One week ago, a mother in the French town of Nanterre was getting ready for work. Before she left, her 17-year-old son Nahel gave her a big kiss and told her, "I love you, Mum".

Hours later, he was dead, shot point-blankWhen a bullet is fired very close to its target, often a person. by a police officer during a traffic stop.

As the details came out, France exploded. For almost a week, riots raged in major cities, targeting police stations and town halls.

The riots have come from the disadvantaged suburbs known as the "banlieues". These areas are largely inhabited by ethnic minorities, and they are very deprivedNot having the things that are needed for a pleasant or successful life.: in Aubervilliers, north of Paris, 24% of people are unemployed, and some 42% of the population lives in poverty.¹

But others say the French government has been trying to improve life in the banlieues, and that racism is becoming less and less tolerated.

And the people of the banlieues are not all behind the rioters. Nahel's family have pleaded with them to stop, saying they want only peaceful protests.

Which is why some think the real problem is the police. French protesters have always had a vexed relationship with the police, but in the banlieues, the feeling is much more visceralFelt deeply or instinctively, often based on emotion. .

The police are known to target Black and Arab young men, who are stopped 20 times more often than the rest of the population.

Some historians say it is little wonder that when people from minority groups are killed by police, the banlieues tend to explode.

This has led many to call for police reform. But the French police have a lot of political power.

In 2020, then-Interior Minister Christophe Castaner tried to change how police can treat people in custody. French police unionsA trade union is an association of workers which can fight for the rights of workers and defend them against unfair working conditions. staged protests all over France and Castaner lost his job. So reform seems unlikely.

Yes: The people of the banlieues have been treated like second-class citizens for too long. They have been disowned by their own country. No wonder a tragic killing like this sparks a riot.

No: Politicians are doing their best to improve conditions in the banlieues. Bit by bit, things are improving. This is just people taking advantage of the chaos to break things.

Or... It is true that politicians are trying to improve the economic situation in the banlieues. But as long as they will not confront the police, the biggest problem will go unsolved, and the banlieues will remain a powder kegA barrel of gunpowder. Often used to describe a situation which could become very dangerous. .