2005 French riots
| 2005 French riots | |||
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Various scenes from the civil unrest
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| Date | 27 October – 16 November 2005 | ||
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Various cities and towns in France 47°N 2°E / 47°N 2°ECoordinates: 47°N 2°E / 47°N 2°E |
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| Causes | Police chase of youths on 27 October | ||
| Methods | Arson, rioting | ||
| Result | Rioting slows down by mid-November, state of emergency declared on 8 November | ||
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In October and November 2005, a series of riots occurred in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, involving the burning of cars and public buildings at night. The events, largely associated with immigrant communities with Arab or otherwise Muslim background, have been popularly named as the French Intifada.
The unrest started on 27 October at Clichy-sous-Bois, where police were investigating a reported break-in at a building site, and a group of local youths scattered in order to avoid interrogation. Three of them hid in an electricity substation where two died from electrocution, resulting in a power blackout. (It was not established whether police had suspected these individuals or a different group, wanted on separate charges.) The incident ignited rising tensions about youth unemployment and police harassment in the poorer housing estates, and there followed three weeks of rioting throughout France. The rioters were the children of African immigrants, strongly identified with Islam, and feeling culturally different from the French. A state of emergency was declared on 8 November, later extended for three weeks, and the government announced a crackdown on immigration and fraudulent marriages.
The riots resulted in three deaths of non-rioters, many police injuries and nearly 3000 arrests.
Citing two police investigations, The New York Times reported that the incident began at 17:20 on Thursday, 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois when police were called to a construction site to investigate a possible break-in. Three teenagers, chased by the police, climbed a wall to hide in a power substation. Six youths were detained by 17:50. During questioning at the police station in Livry-Gargan at 18:12, blackouts occurred at the station and in nearby areas. The police said that these were caused by the electrocution of two boys, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré; a third boy, Muhittin Altun, suffered electric shock injury from the power substation they were hiding in.The New York Times wrote:
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