France attacked by a '20th-century' blight

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nahel M by a police officer, in Nanterre near Paris last Tuesday, has sparked rioting across France. It has lit a fuse that is lighting others. It has also returned the spotlight on a long-festering issue in France, and across many parts of the democratic world: police brutality, administrative neglect and sectarian imbalance leading to moments of tipping over.

This means police reforms to end a culture of violence in the name of law and order and fixing systemic bigotry, whether racist, religious, casteist or classist in nature. Unresolved issues of the 20th century exacerbated by neglect and deprivation provide fertile grounds for forces that seek to undermine democracies, open societies from both 'ends' of any conflict. French president Emmanuel Macron stepped in early on, describing the killing of a teenager as unacceptable and inexcusable.

It set the tone for the administration's engagement. Calling out the policeman's act of brutality — charged with voluntary homicide — may appear to have little immediate impact since France, in the words of a witness to the destruction of building set ablaze by rioters, 'feels like a powder keg'. But it does create the space for much-needed engagement that should follow once the violence is brought under control.

Macron has made efforts to address the deprivations that define the banlieues, or low-income housing estates, that ring France's towns and cities, home mostly to immigrant populations largely from former French colonies like Algeria. France is grabbing headlines today. But versions of this crisis of faith and governance can be found in many democracies.