In Europe and beyond, the riots in France following the death of Nahel M. in Nanterre on Tuesday, June 27, have been closely followed and commented on, echoing the domestic concerns of each country.
China
China, which is usually quick to report social tensions and police violence in Western countries, has limited its coverage to a minimum until now. This possibly is another sign of how Beijing has been trying to spare French President Emmanuel Macron, who is the country’s privileged European interlocutor since his last visit to China in April.
Russia
In contrast with China, official Russian media have covered the events with a mix of bewilderment and rejoicing. On Thursday evening’s prime-time news, viewers were shown the names of Bezons and Viry-Châtillon, two towns in the Paris region, against a backdrop of amateur footage of clashes, fires, and destruction. The newscast also reported social media users were “actively discussing” Macron’s presence at an Elton John concert “at the time of the worst clashes.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry was equally zealous, parodying comments made by French diplomats after the aborted Wagner Group mutiny and proposed devoting the forthcoming NATO summit “to France’s divisions, the weakness of its army and its security services.” “We’re fighting an enemy while you’re fighting each other,” added the ministry spokesperson on Friday. “So before you try to heal us, heal yourselves.”
In the United States
In the United States, the riots were followed very closely by the media, which drew parallels with the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. “The murder of George Floyd, who was African American, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, made an indelible impression in France, in part because of perceived parallels with the deaths of several people here while in police custody,” writes the New York Times correspondent, Roger Cohen. But, he points out, “The race of the officer was not made public. And no evidence has emerged that the teenager, identified as Nahel M., was targeted because of his ethnicity.”
The Wall Street Journal writes that “The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 fueled new debate in new debate in France. The government of Macron denied there was a problem of racism in the police. Later that year, police were filmed on video beating Michel Zecler, a Black music producer, at his studio in France. Zecler said one of the officers called him a ‘dirty n—’ in French, while striking him.”
Germany
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