At a time when unity is essential, police brutality in France seems to be dividing the people. “We are locked down in our inequality,” says the Seine-Saint-Denis MP Alexis Corbière. “The virus has just amplified the problems the banlieue has had for a long time. It has revealed how wide and deep the social fracture really is.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a minimum fine of €140 is being imposed by French authorities for people who break the lockdown regulations. A fine of €3750 and up to 6 months in prison can be sentenced for repeat offenders.Siene-Saint-Denis is considered one of France’s poorest areas, with a considerable number of immigrants and ethnic minorities. Police stops have been targeted in areas like these, which are called “quartiers populaires”. 

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS OR A HIDDEN AGENDA?

Just recently, a North African man was fined for picking up his wife, a nurse after her shift, despite the fact that it was a justifiable reason. Incidents like these are not uncommon. A Muslim woman was using her veil as a face mask and was also fined. 

Reminding ourselves of the controversial case, SAS v France [2014], which found that France’s law to ban face-coverings such as the burqa did not breach the rights to private and family life  (Article 8), freedom of religion (Article 9), freedom of expression (Article 10) and freedom from discrimination (Article 14) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It was dubbed the “burqa ban” by many with the decision ruling that the ban was necessary for “living together” harmoniously. There have been recent criticisms of this case after France made wearing face masks compulsory during the pandemic, causing people to question whether the “burqa ban” was truly necessary after all. 

Another situation that led to outbreaks of violence was the case of a 30-year-old Arab Muslim man, who was driving his motorcycle when a policeman allegedly opened the door of an unmarked police car, causing a fatal crash that landed the man in hospital. Public outcry has seen growing calls for accountability from the police, as well as riots starting, which have unfortunately resulted in the police’s use of tear gas and batons. The critically injured man urged the gangs to “go home” in a bid for peace. 

Senior legal officer with the Open Society Justice Initiative in Paris, Lanna Hollo, said, “the issue of police violence is not new.  It’s the usual targets, this time with the pretext of enforcing the confinement.” 

LETTER FOR CONCRETE ACTION

24 organisations came together to write an open letter to declare that “unacceptable abusive practices by police forces” in France must come to an end. The letter reports some of the discriminatory incidents that have taken place. Taha Bouhafs, a journalist in France, released a video showing the police verbally abusing a black man they arrested with racial slurs stating that “this is not an isolated case, but echoes several videos” which have been circulated on the internet of similar incidents. On April 16 2020, another black man spent the day in prison for “insult and rebellion” after being searched on a street where he seemed to be the only visible minority. He said that he subjected to racial insults and violence whist his two-year-old child watched. 

The open letter also reports that checks in Siene-Saint-Denis have been more than double the amount of the national average, amounting to 220,000. Two-thirds of the fines have been issued in “quartiers populaires.” Whilst people may argue that this could be because individuals in those areas have not been respecting the lockdown rules, on April 262020, the Interior Ministry stated in Libération that it was “on the contrary”, suggesting that they have been just as, or perhaps more, respectful of the lockdown regulations.. 

As a possible solution to this problem, the letter urges the Prime Minister to order an independent review of the fines issued and an independent review of law enforcement, whilst the Minister of the Interior was requested to publicly condemn the discriminatory practices and take disciplinary actions. The Minister of Justice was prompted to release data about the prosecutions and sanctions in the lockdown.

Mehdi Bigaderne, co-founder of the French civil liberties charity, ACLEFEU, has declared that “if you don’t reduce the social inequalities in these areas, there will always be problems. We’ve been saying this for 15 years. We cannot keep putting plasters over serious wounds.”

France does not seem to be an exception as other countries around the world have also shown cases of discriminatory police action. This can be seen in America, after the death of George Floyd, an African American man tragically killed from the actions of a police officer who put pressure on his neck with his knee whilst restraining him. Floyd was being pursued for alleged forgery charges. The actions of the officers and the wider police institution are being criticised and accountability is being demanded. 

In India, the police admitted to beating a lawyer because they believed that he was Muslim. “You had a long beard. The man [who assaulted you] is a staunch Hindu… In Hindu-Muslim riots whenever a Muslim is arrested, he beats them up brutally, always”, they said. These are not isolated cases and they paint a bigger picture of the underlying discriminatory practices in play in the police-force - a worldwide trend.

Athena is currently an LLB student at the University of Leeds. She has a keen interest in International Law and Justice and Cyber Rights. She believes in being the change you want to see in the world and aspires to raise awareness about human rights issues worldwide. 

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