French president Emmanuel Macron stepped in early on, describing the killing of a teenager as unacceptable and inexcusable. It set the tone for the administration’s engagement. Calling out the policeman’s act of brutality – charged with voluntary homicide – may appear to have little immediate impact since France, in the words of a witness to the destruction of building set ablaze by rioters, ‘feels like a powder keg’. But it does create the space for much-needed engagement that should follow once the violence is brought under control. Macron has made efforts to address the deprivations that define the banlieues, or low-income housing estates, that ring France’s towns and cities, home mostly to immigrant populations largely from former French colonies like Algeria.
France is grabbing headlines today. But versions of this crisis of faith and governance can be found in many democracies. Updating state agencies to match the needs of diverse populations must become a governance priority.