French riots then and now how 2023 compares with 2005

By some measures, the week of unrest that followed the killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. has been more intense than the three weeks of strife that followed the deaths of two teenagers, one black, one of Arab origin, while fleeing a police identity check in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois in November 2005. AFP looks at the figures: Seven nights of rioting in 2023 have led to almost as many arrests as over three-and-a-half weeks in 2005. A total of 3,486 arrests have been made so far, according to interior ministry figures. Of these, 374 people have already been brought to court and tried, according to the justice ministry. During the 2005 riots, 4,728 were arrested, according to the police. Hundreds more were arrested afterwards over their role in the unrest. There has been far more destruction of property in the latest outpouring of anger over discrimination against minority youths by police. A total of 1,105 buildings have been set on fire or damaged and 5,892 vehicles have been torched, according to the interior ministry.