FRANCE ON FIRE After African Boy Shot at Traffic Stop by Police Officer

You’ve probably seen all the videos of buildings and cars on fire, the explosions and reported shootings in Europe’s 3rd largest economy. Some have even compared the footage to a war zone.Show more

While this is very dramatic, to say the least, it still shows the extent of the unrest in the country. But why?

An officer shot and killed a 17-year-old North African boy at a traffic stop. A prosecutor has determined the need for an investigation for voluntary homicide.

It was the third killing this year during a police traffic stop, after a record 13 deaths last year. Most of the victims have been black or Arab.

A study by an independent French human rights watchdog found that Blacks and Arabs in France were 20x more likely to be stopped by Police.

Amnesty International has been critical of French Police’s ethnic profiling and discrimination records.

Protests kicked off 3 days ago and continue to get worse. 40,000 law enforcement personnel were deployed in response to the unrest with hundreds of arrests and counting.

Fears are mounting of a repeat of the 2005 riots, also sparked by the death of African boys during a Police chase, which saw mayhem in the country and thousands arrested.

While most of France agree violent protests are never ok, some are using this as an opportunity to attack migrants and religious minorities, blaming them for the violence and claiming these riots are a result of lenient immigration laws