World

French police on trial for teen deaths that kicked off riots

Published

10 years ago

March 16, 2015

Zyed Benna’s father Amor Benna, background left, Aissatou Traore, center right, sister of Bouna Traore, plaintiffs’ lawyers Emmanuel Tordjman, foreground and Jean-Pierre Mignard, right, stand at the Rennes courtroom, western France, Monday, March 16, 2015. (AP Photo/David Vincent)

Jamey Keaton and Philippe Sotto, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France (AP) — Some things have changed since riots swept across France’s troubled neighborhoods a decade ago. Public money has funded glistening new housing projects with Mondrian-style color schemes, roads have been re-paved, tramways installed and new sports and cultural facilities have been built.

But to many French youths of black and Arab descent, the face-lift is just a Band-Aid. The new buildings simply mask a severe lack of job prospects for those from immigrant backgrounds, a two-track French justice system and entrenched discrimination across French society that offers little-to-no exit from dead-end futures.

Roiling suspicions that French justice may not be colorblind come as two police officers went on trial Monday for allegedly failing in their legal responsibility to help “people in danger” — notably two minority teenagers whose electrocution deaths in 2005 set off a three-week wave of rioting across France.

A decade later, the country is still struggling to mend such social problems — a task that has taken on critical importance since three French radicals from poor, minority backgrounds killed 17 people in Paris in January — France’s worst terrorist attacks in decades.

Mainstream French political parties, meanwhile, are seeing the far-right capitalize on broad feelings of insecurity and frustration about joblessness.

On Oct. 27, 2005, Clichy-sous-Bois, a hardscrabble suburb worlds away from rich central Paris, became the epicenter of three weeks of car burnings and clashes between French youths and police. The trigger was the electrocution deaths of Zyed Benna, 17, and Bouna Troare, 15, while they hid from police in a power substation after entering an off-limits construction site.

By the end of the riots, more than 10,000 cars had been torched, 300 buildings damaged or destroyed and 1,300 people had been convicted of violent offenses.

Many see the trial of officers Sebastien Gaillemin, 41, and Stephanie Klein, 38, as a chance to get answers about how the riots started and see if anyone in authority can be held to account. For years, prosecutors have sought to block any trial and it’s only happening because France’s highest court stepped in. The five-day trial began in the distant jurisdiction of Rennes in western France. If convicted, Gaillemin and Klein could face up to five years in prison and 75,000 euros ($79,000) each in fines.

“We haven’t forgotten the pain over the last 10 years,” Mariam Cisse, a cousin of Troare, told BFM TV outside the court Monday. “We can’t act as if nothing happened.”

When it comes to feelings of discrimination, Clichy-sous-Bois and towns like it are France’s closest answer to Ferguson, Missouri. While America has tough inner cities, France’s downtrodden have been consigned to giant housing projects in suburbs on the outskirts of major cities. While many injustices in the United States are rooted in racism and slavery, France’s legacy with its ethnic minorities is post-colonial — many housing project inhabitants have family roots in North or sub-Saharan Africa.

Ultimately, some say, money can’t buy the real remedy: A change in attitude among France’s white majority and power elite that opens up opportunities to underprivileged minorities.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls recently denounced “apartheid” in France — admittedly a powerful term, clearly aimed at shaking up public opinion in favor of more inclusion.

“The elites in France are white, over 60 years old, an oligarchical class — and those with North African or black origins have trouble getting in,” said Nadir Kahia, president of Banlieue Plus, a group that tries to reshape poor suburban neighborhoods and give residents back their dignity. “This dominant minority won’t give us the keys. These elites have trouble handing things over.”

Yet hopes for more inclusiveness in France may be fading. The far-right, anti-immigration National Front party has surged in the polls in recent months, riding frustration about entrenched unemployment, sluggish growth and political fat cats. The party has tapped into fears about radical Islam and both anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise.

Meanwhile, the French-born children of immigrants feel that recent efforts they have made — like surging to the polls to help President Francois Hollande and his fellow Socialists win election in 2012 — have gone unreciprocated.

“Over the past 10 years, these 8 or 9 million people who live in these working class districts have had the impression of not being recognized as full French citizens but as French on the margins, that the republic has forgotten some of its children,” said Mohamed Mechmache, president of the civic association ACLeFeu.

He said the political and social “awakening” in France’s poor suburbs was the most positive result of the 2005 riots. His group has polled cities and villages across France to sound out public opinion, and is preparing a new list of grievances for the 10-year anniversary of the boys’ deaths this fall.

In Clichy-sous-Bois, some residents hail refurbishments: A new tramway is in the works to help end its near-isolation from Paris public transport, and the elevators are finally operating again in the towering, 1,500-unit Chene Pointu housing project.

But several young men complained of continued police harassment, calling the infrastructure improvements superficial.

“There are still no jobs, the police break our balls,” said Ibrahim Sidibe, 23, outside Clichy’s main shopping center. He lamented at how long it has taken for the two policemen to go on trial over the teens’ deaths.

“Imagine that two people get killed, and you have to wait 10 years for this – aw! If I were to kill a police officer, believe me, I think I would be naked at the station, and I can’t even imagine what would happen next,” he said. “What happened to Zyed and Bouna could have happened to anybody here.”

___

Sotto reported from Paris.

###

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Newsom, Pelosi Welcome Election of First American Pope; Call for Unity and Compassion

“In his first address, he reminded us that God loves each and every person,” said Newsom. “We trust that he will shepherd us through the best of the Church’s teachings: to respect human dignity, care for the poor, and wish for the common good of us all.” Newsom also expressed hope that the pontiff’s leadership would serve as a unifying force in a time of global instability.

Published

5 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Pope Leo XIV. Screenshot.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on May 8 issued a statement congratulating Pope Leo XIV on his historic election as the first American to lead the Catholic Church.

The announcement has drawn widespread reaction from U.S. leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called the moment spiritually significant and aligned with the values of service and social justice.

In their statement, the Newsoms expressed hope that the newly elected pope would guide the Church with a focus on compassion, dignity, and care for the most vulnerable. Newsom said he and the First Partner joined others around the world in celebrating the milestone and were encouraged by the pope’s first message.

Newsom also expressed hope that the pontiff’s leadership would serve as a unifying force in a time of global instability.

“May he remind us that our better angels are not far away — they’re always within us, waiting to be heard,” he said.

Pelosi, a devout Catholic, also welcomed the pope’s election and noted his symbolic connection to earlier church leaders who championed workers’ rights and social equality.

“It is heartening that His Holiness continued the blessing that Pope Francis gave on Easter Sunday: ‘God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail,’” said Pelosi.

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Retired Bay Area Journalist Finds Success in Paris with Black History Tours

In the late 90s, Stevenson finally realized her dream of living in Paris, now with her daughter. She started exploring the history of Africans in the city and would go on to teach others the same. Her business, which she named Black Paris Tours (BPT), received a significant boost when a family friend gave her a stack of cash and encouraged her to expand on the knowledge that she had only started to share with people she knew.

Published

3 months ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Ricki Stevenson, Blacks in Paris. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

There were two things Oakland-born, East Palo Alto-raised Ricki Stevenson always dreamed of:

Going to New York as a newscaster to tell the true story of Blacks in America.
Living and working in Paris one day.

Her dreams of life in Paris began when she was three years old and her mother, a former professional dancer, took her to see Josephine Baker perform. She was 11 when her parents took her to the Stanford University campus to meet James Baldwin, who was speaking about his book, “The Fire Next Time.” Ricki says that’s when she knew she’d one day live in Paris, “the city of light!”

But before that would ever happen, she had a tumultuous career as a newscaster across the country that was inspired by her family’s history.

Stevenson recalls marching with Cesar Chavez as he fought for labor rights for farm workers in California.

“Are we Mexican too?” she asked her parents. “No, but we will fight for everyone’s human rights,” they responded to her.

Ironically, Ricki’s paternal family roots went back to Greenwood, Oklahoma, infamous for the 1921 bombing of Black Wall Street. A time when Black people had oil wells, banks, and a thriving business community.

This background would propel her into a 25-year journalism career that gave her the opportunity to interview greats like President Jimmy Carter, PLO leader Yassir Arafat, James Baldwin, Rev. Jesse Jackson, UN Ambassador Andrew Young, Miriam Makeba, and the leaders of South African liberation movements.

A job offer from KCBS radio brought her back to the Bay Area in the 1980s. Then came the switch to TV when she was hired as a Silicon Valley business reporter with KSTS TV, working at the first Black-owned television station in northern CA (created and owned by John Douglas). Along the way, Stevenson worked as an entertainment reporter with BET; coproduced, with her disc jockey brother Isaac, a Bay Area show called “Magic Number Video;” lived in Saudi Arabia; worked as an international travel reporter with News Travel Network; and worked at KRON TV a news anchor and talk show host.

In 1997, Stevenson realized her dream of living in Paris with her young daughter, Dedie. She started exploring the history of Africans in the city and would go on to teach others the same. Her business, which she named Black Paris Tours (BPT), received a significant boost when a family friend, Admiral Robert Toney put a chunk of money in her hand. He said, “Ricki, my wife and I have been coming to Paris for 20 years, but in just two days with you and Dedie, we’ve learned and seen more than we ever did before.”

Years after BPT took off, Ricki met Nawo Carol Crawford and Miguel Overton Guerra, who she recruited as senior scholar guides for Black Paris Tours.

Guerra says he is proud of his work with Black Paris Tours in that it provides a wealth of information about the rich legacy of African and African American history and influence in Paris and Europe.

“I tend to have a feeling for history always being a means of a reference point backwards … you start to understand the history, that it isn’t just the United States, that it began with African people,” Guerra says.

He said that it’s been a pleasure to watch people learn something they didn’t know before and to take them through the city to key points in Black history, like hangout spots for writers like Baldwin and Richard Wright, restaurants in the busiest parts of Paris, the home of Josephine Baker and so much more.

Although the tours are open to all, Guerra hopes that those of African descent from all over the world can embrace that they don’t have to just stay where they are because movies and media have portrayed cities like Paris to be only white, it’s multicultural and accepting to all.

“We’ve been here, and we’ve been there, going way back when. And we shouldn’t be considered or consider ourselves to be strangers in any place that we go to,” he said.

Stevenson notes they’ve had 150,000 people take their tour over the years, with notables like former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Smokey Robinson, Steve Harvey, Miriam Makeba, and more.

Friends and former media colleagues of Stevenson compliment the BPT crew on their knowledge of the city and their ability to always keep it interesting.

“He [Guerra] just had a deep, deep wealth of knowledge and he was constantly supplanting information with historical facts and the like. I love that it was demonstrating and showing how Black people have thrived in Paris or contributed to the culture in Paris,” Candice Francis said.

She toured in the summer of 2022 and stated that in the two weeks that they visited Paris, BPT was the highlight of her trip. She shared that she was proud of Stevenson and the life she’d managed to manifest and build for herself.

“Even if you’re visiting Paris for the tenth time, if you haven’t taken the tour, then by all means, take it,” Francis emphasized.

Magaly Muñoz, Gay Plair and Paul Cobb also contributed to this story. You can book your own adventure with Black Paris Tours at www.blackparistour.com.

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COMMENTARY: Will a Dictator’s Loss Change Trump’s Tune?

What’s happened in Syria has the potential of reshaping the politics of the entire Middle East. The U.S. can’t afford to sit back and do nothing. Now is the time to exert peaceful, diplomatic influence on how Syria maintains stability and goes forward with a new democracy.

Published

5 months ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

In our polarized country, half of America can’t wait, while many of us still wonder, “where’s Kamala?”

I hope President-elect Trump — who famously said during the campaign that he’d be a dictator on day one — eats his words.

Dictators aren’t doing so well these days.

Last weekend, the dictator Bashar al-Assad was run out of Syria and sought exile with his puppet master/dictator Vladimir Putin of Russia. In just about two weeks, a coalition of rebels applied enough pressure to end a family regime in Syria that lasted 50 years.

al-Assad’s wealthy family dictatorship plundered Syria and ruled in terror.

It sounds all too familiar to Filipino Americans, many of whom came to the U.S. fleeing the Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

al-Assad’s end was different from the Filipinos who forged a peaceful People Power movement that chased the Marcos family to Hawaii where they sought refuge from their U.S. puppet handlers.

But as in Manila, there was cheering on the streets of Syria. Men, women, and children. Christian, Muslims, different sects and ethnicities, all united against al-Assad.

al-Assad has been described as a genocidal narco-trafficking tyrant, whose friends were America’s biggest enemies, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia, said Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, on CNN.

Moustafa said it was amazing that there would be no more Russian airstrikes, no more al-Assad gulags torturing civilians. “To see good triumph over evil is an amazing thing,” he added.

But last weekend has some trickle down.

Consider that we are talking about al-Assad, the one Tulsi Gabbard consorted with and hyped to her colleagues when she was in Congress. Now Assad has been shamed into exile with his puppet master Russia, and Gabbard wants to be the U.S. director of national security? Given her wrongheaded judgment on al-Assad, can she be trusted with any national secrets?

It’s still not over in Syria, as now there will be a scramble to see what kind of governing democracy emerges.

Predictably, Donald Trump has said, “The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved.”

Nouveau isolationism?

Overall, the ouster of the dictator should give Trump pause.

If by nominating MAGA loyalists like Gabbard, Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel, Trump’s testing the evolution to strongman rule in the U.S., he should consider what happened before last weekend.

In South Korea, a weak president tried to declare martial law and was voted down by Parliament. That’s a faux strongman.

Let’s hope Trump learns a lesson from the week’s news.

The next president sets the tone for a politics that’s already toxic.

He needs to remember the joy in Syria this week when an autocrat was dumped in the name of freedom and democracy.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning Bay Area journalist. His commentaries are on YouTube.com/@emilamok1. Or join him at www.patreon.com/emilamok