On 27 June 2023, Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old was shot dead by police for refusing to obey orders by police officers who stopped him for traffic violations.
The young man, a French citizen of north African descent, is another casualty of the increased security regime put in place by Macron that disproportionately targets people of colour, sparking riots in low-income quarters throughout France. The killing, and the riots that followed, are best understood as a challenge to the Macron Regime, an ideology based on three key notions of security, merit and hope.
Fatal shootings by police and gendarmerie officers have nearly doubled under Macron, and, just like Nahel, many were unarmed and shot for refusing to obey police orders. The French arm of the police which investigates shootings, the IGPN, has been accused of fostering a culture of impunity among French law enforcement and enjoys little public trust. It soon emerged, after the shooting of Nahel, that police officers probably lied in their report when a video of the shooting was posted online in direct contradiction to their version of events.
The riots that followed throughout France were virulent and reminded observers of those of 2005, which followed the death of two teenagers as they were being chased by police. Burning cars and buildings, scenes of looting and clashes with police could be seen on the evening news and the 24-hour news networks, in 2005 and 2023. Macron soon reacted to recent events, blaming social media platforms, particularly TikTok for the riots. French legislators have already debated new laws to control social media last week, a troubling development for civil liberties.
The rise of securitisation is an integral part of Macron’s ideology and exercise of power, often leading to restrictions of civil liberties. Increased spending on security services, in a context of public austerity and cuts to other public services, is at the core of the strategy to control populations, whether it was during the gilets jaunes crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic or the recent pensions reform. The appointment of Gérald Darmanin as Interior Minister has further strengthened the security regime, as the former conservative politician from Les Républicains jumped ships to join Macron, publicly condemning the far-right leader Marine Le Pen for being too soft on crime. Far from the image of the centrist he still enjoys abroad, Macron has fully embraced a hard-line security position on the right of the political spectrum.
The security regime is also strengthened by a fast and expedient justice system. Despite the slow pace of the justice system for regular cases, a series of fast trials have already condemned dozens of rioters to prison sentences, just days after the events. Defence attorneys are raising concerns over these procedures, where the accused have mere hours to prepare their defence. There is a widespread sentiment of a two-speed justice system with white-collar crime shown much more leniency than crime in low-income neighbourhoods.
An important difference with the 2005 riots can be observed in the material objects targeted by the participants. Back in 2005, many more cars were set alight than in recent events, but this year many more buildings, notably 243 schools, were attacked. This can be explained by schools being a key element of the state on a local level, and a symbol of inequalities in the country. The French education system is notoriously meritocratic, promoting the idea that those who work hard will reap the rewards of their labour. This claim has become increasingly unbelievable with recent reforms of the education system under Macron, which have widened the gap between schools in the banlieues and those in wealthy neighbourhoods. Jean-Michel Blanquer, the Education Minister, enacted widespread reforms to put trust back into schools – a clear failure judging by rioters’ targeting preferences. Merit is the second ideological pillar of the Macron Regime, yet the promises of a meritocratic education system have failed. Parents’ educational and financial background remains the best predictor of access to elite higher education institutions, the notorious grandes écoles, many of which nevertheless hang on to their meritocratic credentials by selecting their students on the basis of a competitive entrance exam (concours).
Instead of a meritocratic society, France has become increasingly class-based, a trend reinforced under Macron’s leadership. The recent inflationary spiral, particularly when it comes to basic necessities such as the price of food or energy, has exacerbated social issues. Many rioters were seen stealing food over the past few weeks. French food consumption has fallen by 17% since 2021, clearly impacted by rising prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Philip Pilkington argues, only ‘three meals separate civilisation from barbarism’. A well-known phenomenon in developing countries, where the risk of riots is higher during a period of rise in food prices than during elections, the phenomenon is now having an impact on affluent western countries such as France. The gilets jaunes protests were similarly caused by the prospect of a rise in the price of fuel, at a time when average living standards are declining.
Macron, who staked his political career on the notion of bringing back hope to people, has ultimately led them into despair. Faced with police brutality, a failed meritocracy and a decline in standards of living, people are taking to the streets to express their anger that cannot be contained by sporadic trips to the ballot box.
Charles Devellennes is Senior Lecturer in Political and Social Thought at the University of Kent.
The Macron Régime by Charles Devellennes is available on the Bristol University Press website. Order here for £80.00.
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Image John Heseltine via Alamy.