ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1970s in Europe “social conflict takes place more commonly in urban areas than in workplaces” (Chaline 1997: 8). The shift is important and is a reflection of the combined effects of the deterioration of social equalityevermore enshrined in the geographical make-up of urban areas-the repudiation of traditional forms of political commitment, and the growing difficulties faced by national models of integration. At the heart of this change are the urban riots which break out periodically in disadvantaged urban areas. Urban riots always follow the same pattern: shortly following an incident involving the police, including at times the death of a young person, a fringe of residents from disadvantaged areas-many of whom are first, second or third-generation immigrants-attacks on public buildings, shopping centers and public institutions, and fights with the police in an atmosphere of violent and persistent disorder and chaos. Calm returns in time.
