The killing of 17-year-old Nahel M by police in Nanterre, a Paris suburb, on June 28, 2023,[1] awakened the protest tradition in France. Indeed, France has witnessed extremely important events in its recent history. In particular, the “Yellow Vests Uprising” in 2018 put the Paris administration in a difficult situation. In the recent past, it is remembered that French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval of the law gradually raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by using the authority granted by Article 49, paragraph 3 of the French Constitution caused various incidents.[2] However, the killing of Nahel M is more similar to the events of 2005, which erupted after the murder of a Frenchman of Maghreb origin and lasted for three weeks.
Despite the differences and similarities between all these events, it is possible to state that there is a culture of street struggle in France that has its roots in the French Revolution of 1789. In other words, the French do not hesitate to show their reactions to various events on the streets and see street movements as one of the areas of the struggle for rights.
The last instance that reflects this situation is the event that took place after Nahel M’s death. At this point, it is possible to state that the protests turned into vandalism and looting came to the fore. However, it is not a healthy approach to accuse all the people who took to the streets of vandalism. The protests clearly reveal the political and social fragility in France in particular and Europe in general.
In this framework, it is beneficial to analyze the masses participating in the demonstrations. Indeed, it can be said that the masses that took to the streets are composed of two main groups. The first of these is those who have been expressing their reaction in various ways since the pension law three months ago and who have reacted to the developments mainly through economic problems. It can be argued that the sensitivity of this group has a class basis.
The second group are the immigrants who caused France to turn into a fire and in a sense reflect the fire of the suburbs. According to them, people who were exploited for many years due to France’s colonialist policies and then migrated to France are marginalized here as well. They also see the murder of Nahel M. as a reflection of anti-immigrant sentiments and racism. Therefore, the reaction is based on a systematic perception of racism, especially since it was a police murder.
On the other hand, looting incidents also trigger the anti-immigrant sentiments of far-right groups. In fact, in many countries experiencing economic problems, even class-based demands turn into anti-immigrant rhetoric over time, migrants are seen as the cause of economic problems, and political leaders use them as a means of othering or securitization. In particular, far-right leaders try to increase their votes with anti-immigrant rhetoric in the face of various problems. As a matter of fact, the increase in the votes of Marine Le Pen and the National Front following the protests of the “Yellow Vests” in 2018 is an indication of this. Moreover, the opposition’s drift towards right-populist politics pushes the governments to make right-populist decisions in order to protect their votes. Therefore, the rise of the far right in France may lead the Macron administration to take anti-immigrant decisions.
Moreover, the rise of right-populist politics is not limited to France. In Italy, the fascist Brothers of Italy party is in power, even though France is a country where this fragility can be observed frequently due to its protest tradition. In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats, a neo-Nazi party, is a coalition partner. In Germany, recent polls indicate that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) may come to power.[3] In the England, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) continues its activities. In addition to all these, it is known that the events following the murder of Nahel M. spread to Belgium and Switzerland. This reveals that there is both a demand for migrants’ rights and a far-right atmosphere in these countries.
As a result, in demographically heterogeneous societies, migrants are marginalized and subjected to a number of discriminatory acts. This situation, on the one hand, opens the door for migrants to politicize and express their reactions; on the other hand, it accelerates the mobilization of the far right. Undoubtedly, the final stage of this process is the erosion of the European identity with the rise of sharp nation-statism, i.e. the rise of nationalisms in European states. This means a Europe divided and in competition with each other. Therefore, it is possible to read the rise of the far right as “the return of Old Europe”. France-centered developments are a precursor of it.
[1] “France Ignored Racist Police Violence for Decades. The Latest Uprising is the Price of That”, Irish Examiner, https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41175340.html, (Date of Accession: 04.07.2023).
[2] “French Left, Labour Unions Stage New Day of Protests Against Pension Reform”, France 24, https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230606-protesters-prepare-for-14th-day-of-protests-in-bid-to-stop-french-pension-overhaul, (Date of Accession: 04.07.2023).
[3] “German far Right Surges in Polls, Alarming Mainstream Parties”, Euronews, https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/02/german-far-right-surges-in-polls-alarming-mainstream-parties, (Date of Accession: 04.07.2023).
