News > France riots: a grim tale of the growing gulf between haves and have-nots

France riots: a grim tale of the growing gulf between haves and have-nots

Nahel Merzouk’s death, and the emergence of a video showing the moment he was shot at point-blank range inside his car, are uniquely distressing for his mother, family and friends. Yet the fact that this was not an isolated incident but one that reflects wider problems in French policing, race relations and society must be evident to all. Merzouk’s death has resurrected vexed questions about France’s dogmatic insistence on racial assimilation, secularism and a one-size-fits-all identity.