As Activists Protest Discrimination on US College Campuses, Anti-Racism Protesters Take to the Streets in France

From SanSan Tofland, accessed on Facebook, November 20 2014.

By Beliz Bolukbasi

November 19, 2025

PARIS, France -- In the month of November, the hashtags ‪#‎ConcernedStudent1950 and #‎InSolidarityWithMizzou proliferate on social media sites. After several racist incidents occurred on the flagship campus of the University of Missouri in October, calls for a heightened discussion of racial issues in the United States have re-emerged in the national discourse, roughly a year after #BlackLivesMatter. Corresponding to the discussion and growing attention being paid to race and racial discrimination in the United States, a public discourse focused on the status of minorities in France has been carried across across the country through civil protests, newspaper columns and political platforms.

According to the latest figures, there are 5.7 million immigrants living in France, representing around 8.7 percent of the country’s total population. Immigration in France is nothing new – back in 1954 there were 2.3 million immigrants and the number grew to 4.2 million by 1990. As a result, the status of people of color and immigrants from the Middle East -and the associated social and professional costs associated with minority status- have generated a substantial amount of sociopolitical literature, public debate and nation-wide demonstrations.

Paris witnessed one of those demonstrations in late October, when thousands of people attended the ‘March of Dignity’ to protest against racism, police brutality and injustice. One of the most important features of the march was that women were in the front, taking the first and the firmest steps in the crowd. They were vocal, chanting for “justice”, “unity” and “tolerance”. They were denouncing police brutality that victimizes ethnic and racial minorities and arguing for equal employment opportunities.  

At 2 PM on October 31st, crowds began gathering around Barbès Rochechouart in the 18th arrondissement to walk to the Place de la Bastille. The march was organized and led by the members of the “March of Women for Dignity” (Membre de la Marche des Femmes Pour la Dignité—MAFED). They held banners that demanded tolerance for multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. They were motivated to reform the “increasingly deplorable social conditions, the harassment and humiliation of black people, Arabs and the working class.” Most importantly, they were motivated to open the ground for further and more constructive discussion.

During the October 31st protest, MAFED activists frequently referred to the riots of October 2005. Ten years ago, on October 27th, 2005, cities across France experienced a wave of civil unrest. Everything began when the police decided to investigate a reported break-in at a building site at Clichy-sous-Bois. Coming home from a football match, a group of young people who resisted interrogation had been chased by the police. Three of these individuals with African or North African origin, Bouna Traoré (15 years), Zyed Benna (17 years), Muhittin Altun (17 years) hid behind an electric substation. While Altun was able to escape with burns, Traoré and Benna died due to electrocution.

Shortly after this tragedy, riots began. Initially confined to the Paris area, the unrest subsequently spread to other areas of the Île-de-France région, and the outskirts of France's urban areas. President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency. For three weeks, thousands of vehicles and buildings were burned, resulting in €200 million damage. The deaths of Traoré and Benna echoed throughout France as many people perceived the incident to be a manifestation of the discriminatory policies affecting the minorities in France: racial and ethnic prejudice in social and professional domains, youth unemployment, police harassment, and a sub-standard housing market that relegates immigrants into outer suburbs of Paris with inferior infrastructure.

The social and structural problems affecting the minority population in France are ongoing. As several thousand of people marched at the March of Dignity in Paris on October 31st, they collectively shared their grievances and demands. MAFED spokeswomen Amal Bentounsi said, "today in France, if you don't have the right skin color ... you can die at the hands of the police.” Bentounsi’s own brother was the victim of police brutality, killed by a policeman in Noisy-le-Sec in 2012.

The “March of Dignity” has been supported by American Civil Rights Movement activist Angela Davis and thousands of people in France. The hashtag #MarcheDeLaDignite circulated around Twitter. Demonstrations have been covered by major newspapers, including  Le Monde and Le Parisien.

Both the United States and France have unique histories of race relations and social movements to eliminate racial discrimination. However, putting the national and structural differences aside, they both face growing protests against the retrograde practices of some institutions and personal biases of individuals. In these multi-colored nations, every citizen should have the basic right to live in freedom with peace of mind and without being threatened, no matter what their skin color is.