The fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy of north African descent during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb, and the three consecutive nights of violence and rioting it has triggered, have once more thrown a spotlight on France’s policing structures and methods.
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) on Friday became the latest international organisation to criticise French policing, saying the shooting was a “moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement”.
