How are the riots in France seen from abroad?
The rioting and looting that has erupted in France following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel by police at a traffic stop has been widely relayed abroad, but from radically different perspectives.
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Nahel, a teenager of North African descent, was shot after he failed to stop for a police check in the multi-ethnic working class suburb of Nanterre last Tuesday.
A 38-year-old policeman has been charged with voluntary homicide over his death and is being held in custody.
The shooting has led to six consecutive nights of rioting in some of France's big cities and poorer outlying neighbourhoods known as banlieues – home to large numbers of people from immigrant backgrounds.
USA: a ‘George Floyd moment’
The riots have made headline news in much US media, reports RFI’s correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten.
The liberal New York Times daily, which has created a special section on the rioting, shows both the daily racism teenagers from immigrant backgrounds are up against and the exasperation residents in the banlieues feel over the destruction of shops and public facilities.
On its website, rightwing Fox News television focuses on the “hundreds of injured police” and “Emmanuel Macron struggling to control the violence”.
US media is drawing parallels between Nayel’s death and the shooting of African-American George Floyd by a white officer in 2020, and which gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
CNN television evokes the taboo of “institutional racism” in France, while Newsweek magazine talks about France “living through a George Floyd moment”.
“The shots fired by a police officer show that the US is not the only country battling brutality and racism in the police,” reports ABC television.
Algeria: 'thirst for justice'
Nahel’s “brutal and tragic" death arose in “troubling circumstances” according to Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra. He expressed his “shock” and “concern” reports RFI’s correspondent in Alger, Fayçal Metaoui.
Daily El Watan writes of the “thirst for justice” in France’s banlieues, while El Khabar writes “the fires of racism are setting France alight”.
The Movement of Society for Peace, an Islamic party, evokes “the impunity of French police” in the violent way they deal with migrants.
Some of the country’s internet users denounce the way French officials have criticised parents for not keeping teenagers in check. “France has done all it can to destroy the family and now it’s trying to criticise parents to make us forget the government’s responsibilities,” writes one user.
Another has published a video of President Emmanuel Macron in a concert in Paris with the comment: “he’s dancing while the country is burning”.
Poland: violence as propaganda for rightwing government
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party has seized on the riots to nourish its anti-immigration policy, reports RFI Warsaw correspondent Martin Chabal.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is blaming illegal immigrants for the violence. In a video published on Twitter the party compared the recent nights of protest with peaceful streets in Poland – thanks to the government’s security policy.
The PM also warned that such violence could appear in Poland if the European Union voted for the new migration pact on relocating migrants within member states. Having returned from Brussels this weekend without finding an agreement on the subject, Chabal says the PM is trying to use images of rioting in France to convince other member states not to vote in favour of the pact.
Videos of burning buildings and clashes with the police have been widely relayed in Polish media, notably the torched swimming pool in Aubervilliers where athletes will train for the 2024 Olympics.
Several outlets question whether Paris is ready to welcome the Olympics and if it can guarantee security.
Meanwhile, some government supporters have taken to Twitter to denounce the lack of coverage of the riots by one of Poland's main radio stations. They accuse it of “leftwing censorship” in refusing to acknowledge the violence is being provoked by illegal immigrants.
Moscow: an illustration of western decadence
The majority of Russia’s TV coverage of the riots opens with images of burning vehicles and fighting in the streets using mortars, says Moscow correspondent Jean-Didier Revoin.
Senator Alexeï Pouchkov is trying to get political mileage out of the riots. “You refuse to see the results of uncontrolled immigration, here they are!" he wrote in a post on Telegram. "Multi-culturalism, integration, tolerance and other ideologies have led to devastating riots."
His point of view is widely shared within the political class, which sees the rioting in France as an illustration of the decadence in the West that Moscow claims to be fighting.
China: warning after tourist coach attacked
A bus carrying a group of Chinese tourists got caught up in the rioting last Thursday in the French port city of Marseille. According to witnesses on a video circulating on social media and quoted by Huanqiu Shibao, the coach’s windows were smashed and one of the rioters managed to get on the bus carrying a stone before being pushed back.
The incident led China's Consulate General in Marseille to lodge a formal complaint calling for France to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and their property.
Chinese media has covered the rioting, but not as headline news, says Stéphane Lagarde, RFI’s correspondent in Beijing.
The words used to describe the rioters are the same as those used for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong in 2019: "黑衣人" (men in black) or " 蒙面暴徒" (masked thugs).
Some nationalist media accounts are blaming the troubles on European countries welcoming refugees. Others point to a “revolution of colour” orchestrated by the US.
UK: police a 'lot tougher' here
On the other side of the Channel, the rioting has made headlines in much of the media, reports RFI’s London correspondent Eméline Vin.
But while pictures of rioting in Paris and other cities popular tourist destinations are circulating widely, it hasn’t dissuaded people from taking Eurostar.
“We heard sirens, saw six or seven CRS (riot police) vehicles along the Seine river, but we weren’t affected,” said Chris, a British tourist visiting Paris. “People are continuing to go out to restaurants. The French like to protest, it’s their thing.”
An American couple visiting Paris as part of a tour to Europe say they never contemplated delaying their trip.
“France is a safe country, we have nothing to fear,” Peter said. “This kind of thing happens in all American cities where the police can’t be controlled in the way they treat ethnic and economic minorities. We’re used to it.”
A year after the fiasco at the Champions League match at the Stade de France stadium – where police fired tear gas on thousands of Liverpool supporters – Julia has a negative impression of the French police.
“The English know that the French police, riot police and special forces, are a lot tougher and more violent than ours.”
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