ABSTRACT

To what extent may the 2005 French riots be regarded as a ‘political protest’? What sort of meaning is it possible to attach to these disruptive events which consisted of property destruction, arson and hit-and-run fights with the police but that, in contrary to (say) the legendary May 1968 disorders, did not represent any clear and obvious political message or demand, and did not produce any emerging leadership or aspiring political movement? Many public and political discourses of the day portrayed the rioters as ‘criminal delinquents’ or in the best case as the victims of ‘crise des banlieues *’, resulting in both cases in the de-politicisation of their actions.