France's Ongoing Struggle with Racist Policing

The recent fatal police shooting of Nahel M., a person of North African descent, has reignited the debate on France's color-blind ideology and its opposition to collecting racial or religious data. While the international press highlighted the racial aspect of the incident, France's official stance on color-blind republicanism and universalism has prevented a frank discussion on racism and discrimination. However, there is growing demand from minorities and anti-immigration parties for more statistics to address discrimination and immigration issues. The debate on introducing U.S.-style data collection and affirmative action is complicated by the diversity of French society and concerns about defining racial categories. The rise of anti-immigration parties further complicates the issue, as they could potentially weaponize data to support their claims.