Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

s in the

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

department in France began on 26 November 2007, following the deaths of two teenagers (Moushin S., 15, and Larami S., 16), whose

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

collided with a

police vehicle Transportation for police forces is provided by a number of ground vehicles, aircraft and watercraft. Ground Motorized Four-wheels A police car is the description for a vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and ...

. The circumstances recalled those that precipitated the 2005 unrest, which began in

Clichy-sous-Bois Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

Motorcycle accident

The unrest began when the

minibike A minibike is a two-wheeled, motorized, off-highway recreational vehicle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, but available continuously from a wide variety of manufacturers since 1959. Their off-highway nature and (in many countries) typically enti ...

, on which the youths were riding, collided with a

. The families of the youths allege that police rammed the motorcycle and left the two teenagers for dead. The police deny this, saying that the motorcycle was stolen and was an unregistered vehicle not valid for street use, travelling at high speed, and that the youths were not wearing any protective headgear - an account, according to French newspaper reports, confirmed by two eyewitnesses. A police investigation indicated that the motorcycle was in third (top) gear and that the police car was not going over 40 km/h (25 mph).

Riots and government response

Immediately after the incident, a hostile

crowd Generally speaking, a crowd is defined as a group of people that have gathered for a common purpose or intent such as at a Demonstration (people), demonstration, a Sport, sports event, or during looting (this is known as an acting crowd), or ...

formed around the spot of the road accident. Divisional Commissioner Jean-François Illy, in charge of

Sarcelles Sarcelles () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Sarcelles is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department and the seat of the arrondissement of Sarcelles. In the south of the commun ...

area, had his car burned and was hit with iron bars as he was trying to defuse the situation, and was hospitalised with a

fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...

and ribs. However, the scene of the accident was kept untouched by the crowd . Over 130 policemen were injured during night-time

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

s and violent clashes, which began in

Villiers-le-Bel Villiers-le-Bel is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris. History A tragedy occurred in the town in the early evening of March 25, 1818, when a cracked 6,0 ...

in the

department.France stunned by rioters’ savagery
, 2 December 2007 Over 70

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

and buildings were burned, including a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, two

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, a

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

, and several

shop Shop or shopping refers to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop *A wood s ...

s. According to

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Michèle Alliot-Marie Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the Republicans, part of the Eur ...

, several police officers were hit by

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

pellets. One officer received a serious shoulder wound when a firearm projectile pierced his

body armour Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

and another lost an eye. including six seriously wounded officers "who notably were struck in the face and close to the eyes." One police officer said that thirty officers had been hit by shotgun pellets, and one hit by a "bullet used to kill large game." He likened the situation to a "

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

". At least ten cars were burned and a fire broke out at a library in Reynerie, a suburb of the southern city of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Eight rioters were arrested by the police on the night of 27 November. On 28 November, President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, who was in China during the events, met

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

, Interior Minister

, and

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Rachida Dati Rachida Dati (; ar, رشيدة داتي, link=no; born 27 November 1965) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Prior to her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Sea ...

for a security briefing. The authorities decided not to give detailed account of the riots; however, they announced that 39 people were arrested the night before. On 29 November, French suburbs stayed relatively calm after 1,000 riot police were deployed. There was no report of injuries.

Aftermath

An investigation has been opened against the rioters. Another has been opened concerning the accident. On 18 February 2008, 33 people were arrested, suspected of being rioters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007 Civil Unrest In Villiers-Le-Bel

Civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...

Contemporary French history Politics of France Riots and civil disorder in France Civil Unrest In Villiers-le-bel, 2007 Villiers-le-Bel riots

Motorcycle accident

Riots and government response

Aftermath

See also

References