Riots have sparked all over US’ cities for more than a week now for the extrajudicial killing of a black man named George Floyd on May 25 in Minnesota, USA. Similar protests on police’s violence after the death of George Floyd also starting in France for the murder of Adama Traoré, a black man suffocated while he was pinned down by gendarmes after his arrest in July 2016. Around 20,000 protesters gathered in Paris on June 2 to show solidarity for victims of police brutality and to demand justice for Traoré.
In April 2020, similar police brutality and racism even though not resulting in death also occurred to a man of colour from Egypt who was humiliated and beaten up by the police inside the police van in Ile-Saint Denis. Suspected of theft of building materials, the man jumped to the river Seine and when the police managed to take him out from the river he was mocked in a very racist way and received some violent abuse inside the police’s van. One of the police said “A ‘bicot’ like that doesn’t swim” which followed by the laughter from the other police. The word “bicot” which derived from the word “l’arbicot” (means “petit arabe” or little Arab in French) is a very racist language term that goes back to the French colonial history.
In the video of the incident from the Twitter account of ‘Là-bas si j’y suis’, media site where journalist and activist Taha Bouhafs works and reported the incident, we can hear the scream and cry of the Egyptian man suspected of theft and the laughters of the police inside the van.
Journalist and writer Claude Askolovitch explained this police’s racism and the origin of the racist word “bicot” in “28 Minutes” on Arte TV. The word came from the 19th century when French army colonised Algeria and the word is used to add insult to the oppressed Algerian people who have to obey their French colonisers. It started with the word “larbi” or “l’arabe” (means Arab) which later on transformed to “larbicot” and in 1892 it became “bicot” (means little Arab) which became an authorised insult to use to the North Africans people. There are other racist terms such as “l’ignoble crouille” (horrible North African Arab), “melon” (person from Arab origin), “raton” (rat), “bougnoule” (black, north african), “youpin” (person with origin or belief in Judaism), etc. Claude Askolovitch also commented that these police’s behaviour brings the French back to a time when racism was a way of being French (“Ce temps ou le racisme était une manière d’etre francais”), implying that there was a systemic racism in France or that racism was part of the French culture, embedded in the French’s DNA.
The beautiful city of Nantes, France despite its very dark history of slavery. Pictured here is The Castle of the Dukes of Brittany. Photo Credit: Avion Tourism
Memorial of the Abolition of Slavery in Nantes, France is a symbolic witness to France’s horrific past of slavery, abuse of another human beings and trading black slaves as if human beings are commodity. The hypocrisy of how France perceives its dark history and acknowledges its crimes against humanity is clearly shown when the monument to commemorate the victims of slavery is called the “Memorial of the Abolition of Slavery”, as if the perpetrator takes credit of its own crimes by making himself a hero by abolishing slavery, a slavery that the perpetrator created in the first place. Clearly there is a part-denial on how France is accepting and taking responsibility of its past.
It is important to understand that to justify the inhumane slavery and colonialism, it is crucial to see the oppressed as less human than the oppressor, it is important to see them as lower, objectify them as sub-human to devoid us from conscience of the horrible wrong things we did to others (another human beings). Thus it is important to instil racism for political purposes so the oppressor can build an empire for power and profit. Racism is a tool of manipulation in the quest for control, power, hegemony and greed.
The systemic or institutionalised racism in French Police or in France as a state as general definitely goes a long way back to its dark history of slavery and colonialism. And until this matter is fully addressed, there will always be the injustice sentiment and social unrest lurking under the surface of society, ready to emerge anytime.
For every nation to develop or advance in humanity, it has to embrace its past and history fully no matter how dark it is, and to learn from its history because those who have never learned from history are doomed to repeat it.
Understanding Human Behaviours, Psychology (How to Maintain Division or Population Control in Society through Institutionalised Racism) “Divide and Conquer” or “Divida et Impera” (Divide and Rule) of Julius Caesar’s strategy to divide Rome is an old strategy that has been used even before Julius Caesar was born. It is an old tactic used by our “ruling elites” to easily manipulate, divide and distract us, to keep us busy fighting and destroying each other instead of realising the real issues and concentrating our power against the real “enemies”.
To easily control us, we need to be ignorant and brainwashed to keep us dumb and docile, to deprive us from any chance of realizing of what is going on and any chance of fighting back. To easily divide people, racism can be a useful tool. In our modern society, to control us the people, these are the several pillars of strategy being used against us:
1) Fake Corporate Mainstream Media Our mainstream medias are owned by the ruling elites. The purpose of the mainstream media is to manufacture our consent, perfectly explained by the renowned intellectual Prof. Edward S. Herman (together with Noam Chomsky) in his book “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media”. Its purpose is to manufacture our consent to align with the ruling elites’ plan and agenda. For example to go to war which is consent to justify killing others in the name of lies and profit, not for humanitarian reasons. The mainstream corporate media is a propaganda tool to propagate lies, to brainwash our way of thinking, and manufacture consent for the ruling elites’ agenda. It is also one of the main tools to instil hate, fear, white supremacy and racism in society for example by propaganda of blaming the immigrants for all the problems occurred in a country or instilling “Yellow Fear” by blaming China for the Covid-19 pandemic.
2) Education System that Indoctrinate not Educate Our education system does not educate but instead indoctrinate. It teaches us lies instead of our real history. Our education system shapes our way of thinking for the purposes of aligning with our ruling elites’ agenda. Its objective is not to make us smarter but to control our mind and how we are supposed to think. Indoctrination is an act of war to people’s mind and intelligence.
Education system is the other arm of the propaganda after the Fake Mainstream Media. It can act as a propaganda arm for the government or the ruling class, to maintain control, division and White Supremacy which is the deep ideology behind racism. Education institution teaches lies in history, lies in the concept of economic and finance so that the gullible masses have difficulty understanding the manipulation, the fraud and the mass plundering of wealth by our ruling class (government, elites, bankers, corporations, billionaires, etc). By not teaching the truth in history and inducing chauvinism one can feel superior compare to other nationalities which can lead to deluded exceptionalism. This delusional superiority and exceptionalism can drive one to become white supremacist or racist.
3) Agents Provocateur (The Fake Experts) Our world is inundated with incompetent, pseudo-elected and unelected leaders and experts who don’t have the people’s interests in their mind. They are paid and bought for, to do the bidding for the ruling elites.
The leader of USA, President Donald Trump often spews racism in his speech. Bill Gates who recently suddenly appeared all over the news and media to talk about Covid-19 pandemic as if he is an expert on pandemic and idolised as a genius and generous donor by the mainstream media turned out to be a scam when the real truth comes out. We pay respect or listen to the wrong people or the wrong experts because that is what the mainstream media and ruling elites want for us.
In France, the agent provocateur expert in racism is none other than the right-wing extremist Eric Zemmour. Eric Zemmour is notoriously well known in France for his racist sexist comments or speeches and for inciting hate against minorities. He has been sued several time by ‘SOS Racisme’, a non-profit organisation that tries to eliminate racism and xenophobia in France. The problem with Zemmour is that in a normal democratic society, he will not be given platform for his own regular TV shows for him to spew hate and racism. For sure there is a vested interest by the ruling elites and the mainstream media for Zemmour to appear regularly on TV giving his opinions and views to influence the public sphere as much as possible and to move the public more to the extreme right-wing political ideology. What is even more bizarre is Zemmour’s cult followers who really believe whatever Zemmour says and support his racism and sexism. As long as there are agent provocateur like Zemmour and his blind incapable of logical thinking followers, ending racism and sexism will be a very difficult battle.
In France police violence and brutality has spread to other citizens not just to citizens of colour, example during the Yellow Vest Movement or early in this year alleged murder of Cédric Chouviat, a delivery man who was stopped by the police because of his dirty motorcycle’s number plate that resulted in a violent inspection control that caused Cédric Chouviat his death. To fight racism and police brutality we also need to fight impunity of those in power who have done wrong to the people. There should be justice in a society for it to be able to run smoothly and to have peace. From Slavery to Modern Slavery, White Supremacy, Systemic Racism, and Imperialism
There is still a long road to fight racism and to achieve equality and justice for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, etc. The old form of slavery and colonialism have evolved to another more modern form of racism and imperialism, but the essence is still the same. At the core, it is discrimination and exceptionalism, to see others different races from the White as subordinate, as less human than the White that gives the White the illusion that they have the rights to do everything including inhumane things to others different than them.
To have deep understanding in order to bring real systemic changes we have to understand the root cause of the problems which linked to the West’s dark history of slavery and colonialism, understand the pillars of strategy used against us listed above, know the truth and be well-informed as responsible world citizens. We need to solve the real root causes of the problems and not just its symptoms. To bring real changes, we as society as a whole, the whole world have to relentlessly fight until real systemic changes are achieved.
Adama Traoré: French anti-racism protests defy police ban
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Calls for justice for Adama Traoré, who died after being detained in 2016, have re-ignited in France
Thousands of people have taken part in protests in France over the 2016 death of a black man in police custody, defying police orders not to assemble due to coronavirus restrictions.
The death of Adama Traoré, 24, has been likened to the killing of George Floyd in the US, whose death has sparked protests across the country. Police clashed with protesters in the Paris suburbs on Tuesday. The Paris police chief has rejected charges of racism against his force. About 20,000 people defied the order on mass gatherings to join the protest. Initially peaceful, the march turned violent, with stones thrown at police and tear gas fired back. Some of the demonstrators carried Black Lives Matter placards - the movement that began in the US and has spread internationally.
There were also demonstrations in other cities, with thousands attending rallies in Marseille, Lyon and Lille. Interior minister Christophe Castaner criticised the protests in a tweet. "Violence has no place in a democracy," he wrote, and he congratulated the police "for their control and composure". Police union official Yves Lefebvre insisted the two cases were very different but he warned that France's inner-city banlieues (suburbs) were like a pressure-cooker, "ready to explode".
Who was Adama Traoré?
Traoré was stopped by police in July 2016 when out with his brother in the Paris suburb of Beaumont-sur-Oise. The 24-year-old did not have his identity card on him, and ran as the police approached. Three Gendarmerie officers chased him down and detained him. Shortly after he died in their custody. Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Adama Traoré's death in 2016sparked protests One later told investigators he and his two colleagues had pinned down Mr Traoré using their bodyweight. Following his death in 2016, violent protests were seen in Paris for several days. His case has become a rallying cry against police brutality in France, which young ethnic minority communities say targets them.
Media captionSpike Lee on George Floyd's death and his new film Da 5 BloodsOfficial reports indicate he died of heart failure, possibly due to an underlying health condition. Last Thursday, the officers who detained Mr Traoré were exonerated by a police investigation. But another autopsy, requested by Traoré's family, reportedly suggests it was the police's actions that caused his death. According to broadcaster Franceinfo, the independent report says he died of "positional asphyxia" caused by being placed in the prone position.
What happened on Tuesday?
On Tuesday campaigners defied authorities, after their request for permission to protest was denied by police. Public gatherings are limited to 10 people to control the spread of coronavirus. Video showed police firing tear gas at crowds in Paris, as well as several fires and blocked roads.
"Today we are not just talking about the fight of the Traoré family. It is the fight for everyone. When we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adama Traoré," his sister, Assa, told the protest, according to AFP.
Paris police chief Didier Lallement defended his force against allegations of brutality and racism. In a letter to police officers, he said he sympathised with the "pain" they must feel "faced with accusations of violence and racism, repeated endlessly by social networks and certain activist groups".
Who is Adama Traore and why are there protests across France in his name?
More than 20,000 people took to the streets of Paris on Tuesday night while other protests took place around France calling for 'justice for Adama Traore' - but who is he and why the protests?
Thousands gathered in Paris for protests which were largely peaceful, but ended with scuffles with police, tear gas and street furniture set on fire.
The protest started in the late Tuesday afternoon outside a court in northern Paris, before projectiles were thrown and the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, AFP journalists witnessed. Sporadic clashes broke out near the city's main ring road, with stones thrown at the police, who responded by firing rubber bullets. Some protesters burned bins, bicycles and scooters to set up flaming barricades on the streets. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner responded by saying that "violence has no place in a democracy". Other protests were held across France, with 2,500 people attending a rally in the northern city of Lille, 1,800 in Marseille, and 1,200 in Lyon. What was the protest about? The protest was sparked after a verdict on Friday in a four-year investigation into the death of Adama Traore, who died after being arrested in 2016. Paris police chief Didier Lallement refused permission for the march, but organisers - including Adama's sister Assa - decided to go ahead anyway. Among the banners calling for 'Justice pour Adama' were many referencing George Floyd, the American man whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests across the US. Many in Paris also took to one knee, in an echo of Colin Kaepernick's protest against police brutality and had slogans in English including 'Black Lives Matter' and 'I can't breathe' echoing the US protests. Who was Adama Traore? A 24-year-old man born in the Paris suburb of Beaumont-sur-Oise who was arrested in 2016 after a dispute over a police identity check. After a brief chase he was arrested and one of the three arresting officers has told investigators that they pinned Traore down with their combined bodyweight. Traore lost consciousness in their vehicle and died at a nearby police station. He was still handcuffed when paramedics arrived. Since then, there have been four medical reports into the cause of his death, with experts failing to agree whether the cause of death was suffocation after the police pinned him to the ground or whether his underlying medical conditions and possible presence of drugs in his body contributed to his death. Is this type of incident unusual in France? Sadly, no. France's black and North African communities have frequently made accusations of bias and violence against French police and racially mixed areas - in particular Paris' northern suburbs - have seen regular clashes with police and accusations of police brutality. READ ALSO Investigation launched after Paris police allegedly caught on video making racist comments During the lockdown there were several nights of running battles between police and locals after a motorcyclist was seriously hurt during a police stop. In May the French-Algerian actress Camelia Jordan caused a storm of protest when she said that people "get massacred" by Police in the Paris suburbs because of the colour of their skin. Over the years there have seen a string of high-profile cases, including the death of two young men during a police chase in 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois which lead to three weeks of rioting. More recently the Paris suburb of Les Ulis saw rioting over a case in which a youth worker named Théo was beaten and allegedly raped with a police baton. During 2019 there was a national conversation about police violence after injuries during 'yellow vest' protests, but many campaigners said this problem had existed for years in areas that are poor, racially mixed and largely ignored by the media. READ ALSO How the 'yellow vests' forced France to talk about police violence What do the police say? French police chiefs do not accept that there is a problem with violence or racism within their ranks. Paris police chief Didier Lallement, who had denied permission for Tuesday night's protest, earlier on Tuesday wrote a letter to police officers defending their conduct. He said he sympathised with the "pain" officers must feel "faced with accusations of violence and racism, repeated endlessly by social networks and certain activist groups". The Paris police force "is not violent, nor racist: it acts within the framework of the right to liberty for all", he insisted in an email to the city's 27,500 law enforcers.
