Reading this (why?) I got the impression the writer was working feverishly to make people think France's police weren't heavy handed enough the past 25 years. Rabid authoritarianism is a core Telegraph value, and it's weird to see it getting upvoted here.
I think the protesters just want a reason to riot and to find a vehicle for their frustrations, but a framing like this is just as much a form of venting.
I understand people flagging this, it's a sensitive topic. Though it's a shame we can't have a better discussion about this. This doesn't look like normal civil unrest which France has a history of. The current narratives aren't helpful. It seems that racism became an excuse to be criminal and crime an excuse to be racist.
I'm a a technologist but technology can't be dissociated from politics. Something is wrong, society is sick and I fear the immuno response may kill the host. People on both sides of the political spectrum are radicalizing, electing authoritarian figures and supporting censorship.
Odd. The wanton stabbing of multiple children in a park in Annecy [1] didn't trigger any sort of us-vs-them reaction. Meanwhile this case, where the officer responsible has already been charged with homicide [2] (and the victim had before tried to speed away, only stopping when forced to by traffic, and again sped away immediately before being shot), is causing nationwide riots. What gives? Why does the stabbing of multiple children barely register, but this case is an explosion?
The park stabbing was a lone crazy person, that was clear to everyone.
The police murder was perpetrated by a member of an omnipresent institution that people in disaffected communities have negative interactions with regularly.
In the US, the police kill 25 white people per 10 million white people per year: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ (the graphic shows per 1 million, but over 10 years)
In other words, US police kill 4.5x more white people, than French police kill anyone. But you are absolutely right (despite the cop responsible being charged with homicide) - in one case the guilt is collective, in the other, it's just lone individuals, and no patterns can or should be perceived.
As a bonus, in that killings by law enforcement wikipedia table, there are many countries higher than France. But with a few notable exceptions (the US being one), those killings seldom provoke ethnic riots, despite being much more numerous. So what makes the killings in France so much more salient?
The problems in France run much deeper than the police murdering a brown person. Massive influx of a segregated immigrant population who are forced economically into neglected areas and discriminated against routinely. Over-incarceration and prison system create a breeding ground for criminality and terrorism. Worsening economic outlook for many combined with neoliberal systematic neglect and increased taxation through austerity. The populist fascist white nationalists under Nationally Rally (National Front) who hope to push out Macron would make the situation worse. Riots are what happen when people lack jobs, money, housing, safety, love, or justice.
This take is absolute classic Telegraph shit. My own tendencies lay way more in sympathy to the people, support protests, believe it's part of the great arch of society. I don't want to agree with this article at all.
And it's not this incident specifically.
I hate it, but I have some unease about tensions in general & how they manifest. I believe in the social contract, and I'm not sure how we can fulfill our obligations to ourselves, and how we can renew a sense of justice & improvement after things go wrong. I don't know the situation in France well, but in general, I've harbored some worry in the last 5 years or so that (often justified & honest & deserved) reactions can have large negative impacts on society, and I don't think we the world have the margins to soak these kinds of losses that we used to. Ideally the world would be more oriented towards sustainability, towards resilience, would have safety nets, and be better prepared. But it feels like so much of our social structures do - and i hate to say this, hate the conservatism this implies - rest delicately or precariously in balance.
I really so strongly agree with what you are saying. But I also want to find some way to find some permissible perspectives that recognize some of the nuance / scaredness, that can acknowledge some of the very conservative fear for the status quo & it's disruption, ideally without having to also demonize & counter-attack while doing so.
I think a large part of it is that they imported a bunch of different disparate cultures over the last few years. All those cultures have their own little societies, and I think very little integration.
So you have a mixture of oil and water.
And when the new ones have no home or responsibilities and are fed by the government, well, ha, who knew they would bite the hand that housed, fed, and clothed them.
Everyone and their brother predicted the Brexit mess.
France definitely has a problem. Somewhere along the way people started to believe that the only way to affect change is thru riots and mass destruction. That's how I see it as an outsider. The bigger problem is that this type of actions is fuel for a conservative strong person to take over as a leader. It may not be the end for France but big changes are coming to it, if things don't change. Eventually the majority gets scared and vote in a law and order strong man.
Readit News
So I clicked her name.
If you've ever wondered what a blatant apparatchik looks like: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/anne-elisabeth-m...
I'm certainly no great fan of Macron and his neolib smuggery, but this lady's list of articles is concerning. As are some of these comments...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Killing_of_Nael_M._Vide...
You should also be aware that this person was known to the police and it is easy to research why.
Sorry, but no telegraph.
Dead Comment
I'm a a technologist but technology can't be dissociated from politics. Something is wrong, society is sick and I fear the immuno response may kill the host. People on both sides of the political spectrum are radicalizing, electing authoritarian figures and supporting censorship.
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65841666
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66075798
The police murder was perpetrated by a member of an omnipresent institution that people in disaffected communities have negative interactions with regularly.
In France, the police kill 5.5 people per 10 million people per year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_by_law_enforcement._R...
In other words, US police kill 4.5x more white people, than French police kill anyone. But you are absolutely right (despite the cop responsible being charged with homicide) - in one case the guilt is collective, in the other, it's just lone individuals, and no patterns can or should be perceived.
As a bonus, in that killings by law enforcement wikipedia table, there are many countries higher than France. But with a few notable exceptions (the US being one), those killings seldom provoke ethnic riots, despite being much more numerous. So what makes the killings in France so much more salient?
Deleted Comment
Too bad they were much more "conservative" to predict this bloody mess that became Brexit...
And it's not this incident specifically.
I hate it, but I have some unease about tensions in general & how they manifest. I believe in the social contract, and I'm not sure how we can fulfill our obligations to ourselves, and how we can renew a sense of justice & improvement after things go wrong. I don't know the situation in France well, but in general, I've harbored some worry in the last 5 years or so that (often justified & honest & deserved) reactions can have large negative impacts on society, and I don't think we the world have the margins to soak these kinds of losses that we used to. Ideally the world would be more oriented towards sustainability, towards resilience, would have safety nets, and be better prepared. But it feels like so much of our social structures do - and i hate to say this, hate the conservatism this implies - rest delicately or precariously in balance.
I really so strongly agree with what you are saying. But I also want to find some way to find some permissible perspectives that recognize some of the nuance / scaredness, that can acknowledge some of the very conservative fear for the status quo & it's disruption, ideally without having to also demonize & counter-attack while doing so.
So you have a mixture of oil and water.
And when the new ones have no home or responsibilities and are fed by the government, well, ha, who knew they would bite the hand that housed, fed, and clothed them.
Deleted Comment
France definitely has a problem. Somewhere along the way people started to believe that the only way to affect change is thru riots and mass destruction. That's how I see it as an outsider. The bigger problem is that this type of actions is fuel for a conservative strong person to take over as a leader. It may not be the end for France but big changes are coming to it, if things don't change. Eventually the majority gets scared and vote in a law and order strong man.
Probably around 1789?