For almost a week France has been rocked by riots in the wake of the killing of a 17-year-old boy by a police officer. Whilst the exact circumstances were contested, the incident was caught on film and serves as yet more proof of police brutality that many say is engrained in the forces of law and order.
Though France is no stranger to eruptions of public anger, the scale of unrest that was sparked in Paris suburbs and other cities was more akin to protests over social policies than a single incident. In an effort to control the riots – in which cars were burnt, shops looted, and even one mayor's house attacked – a state of emergency was declared, which among other things forbids public gatherings and enables police raids.
But this alone didn't quell the turbulence, with President Macron cancelling international engagements and taking much of the flak for overseeing a regime of racist persecution against the nation's marginalised north-African residents.
As protests turned violent, social media was alive with images of smashed buildings, burning vehicles, and armoured police firing teargas. Macron himself argued that social media is partly to blame for inciting the disorder and with some especially inflammatory footage being debunked as rehashes of past uprisings or even excerpts from thriller films, the problem of online platforms as a vector for real conflict seems indisputable.
Indeed, the appetite for civil disturbance emanated to Brussels, where riot police intervened in one neighbourhood as at least two cars were torched and projectiles thrown. Prime Minister De Croo was swift to denounce the acts, assuring that "What is happening in France has nothing to do with Belgium."
But some commentators countered that Belgium continues to identify strongly with its neighbour, whether on a political front or with comparable social issues affecting similar ethnic profiles. Whilst this isn't to say that Belgium should expect reciprocal rallies to those across the border, there are many who point out that Belgium harbours stigma and discontent that also finds expression in France.
How to address this is therefore as much a question here as it is in France, and riots only perpetuate the problem. The priority must be preventing violence in the first instance, with the Flemish Human Rights League stressing that heavy-handedness only stokes the rage: "The riots are about police brutality in France and Belgium, about ethnic profiling. Just in an attempt to avoid the unrest, you add to the reasons for that unrest."
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