2005 French riots

The **2005 civil unrest in France** was a series of riots in October and November. Many cars and public buildings, for example schools were burnt. The riots started on October 25, 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois, a suburb of Paris. Afterwards they spread to other parts of France. Together they lasted for about 3 weeks. The riots were a reaction to the accidental deaths of two teenage boys and the serious injuries of another. The three boys hid in a power substation and got an electric shock, after being chased by police. However the boys did not commit a crime.

## The event starting the riots

_The New York Times_ said the event started at 17:20 on 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois. They said they know this from a police report. The police were called to a construction site, because of a burglary. Three teenagers thought they were being chased by the police, so they climed a fence of a power substation. This was because the feared long questioning by the police. Another 6 teenagers were caught by the police for questioning by 17:50. At 18:12 at the local police station in Livry-Gargan the lights went out because of a blackout. This black-out was caused by the death of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré in the power station and the injury of the third boy.

There is a controversy, if the boys were chased by police. The local prosecutor and Nicholas Sarkozy, who was minister of interior at that time said no. But the newspaper _The Australian_, who asked some of his friends, said yes.

Before this event there had been in issues with unemployment and police brutality in this town. But after this event mobs of protesters gathered. The _Associated Press_ quoted a protester with "People are joining together to say we've had enough. We live in ghettos. Everyone lives in fear."

## Statistics

- Started: 17:20 on Thursday, 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois.
- Towns with riots: 274 (on November 7)
- Property damage: 8,973 vehicles (Not including buildings).
- Costs: Estimated at €200 million.

- Arrests: 2,888
- Deaths: 1 (Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec)
- Police and firefighters injured: 126

### Statistics by night

||day|Number of cars burned|arrests|places with riots|sources||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1.|Friday October 28, 2005|NA|27|Clichy-sous-Bois|||
|2.|Saturday October 29, 2005|29|14|Clichy-sous-Bois|||
|3.|Sunday October 30, 2005|30|19|Clichy-sous-Bois|||
|4.|Monday October 31, 2005|NA|NA|Clichy-sous-Bois, Montfermeil|||
|5.|Tuesday November 1, 2005|69|NA|Seine-Saint-Denis|||
|6.|Wednesday November 2, 2005|40|NA|Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne Val-d’Oise, Hauts-de-Seine|||
|7.|Thursday November 3, 2005|315|29|Île-de-France, Dijon, Rouen, Bouches-du-Rhône|||
|8.|Friday November 4, 2005|596|78|Île-de-France, Dijon, Rouen, Marseille|||
|9.|Saturday November 5, 2005|897|253|Île-de-France, Rouen, Dijon, Marseille, Évreux, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Hem, Strasbourg, Rennes, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Pau, Lille|||
|10.|Sunday November 6, 2005|1,295|312|Île-de-France, Nord, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Haute-Garonne, Loire-Atlantique, Essonne.|||
|11.|Monday November 7, 2005|1,408|395|274 towns in total. Île-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.|||
|12.|Tuesday November 8, 2005|1,173|330|Paris region, Lille, Auxerre, Toulouse, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté|||
|13.|Wednesday 9 November 2005|617|280|116 towns in total. Paris region, Toulouse, Rhône, Gironde, Arras, Grasse, Dole, Bassens|||
|14.|Thursday November 10, 2005|482|203|Toulouse, Belfort|||
|15.|Friday November 11, 2005|463|201|Toulouse, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille|||
|16.|Saturday November 12, 2005|502|206|NA|||
|17.|Sunday November 13, 2005|374|212|Lyon, Toulouse,  Carpentras, Dunkirk, Amiens, Grenoble|||
|18.|Monday November 14, 2005|284|115|Toulouse, Faches-Thumesnil, Halluin,  Grenoble|||
|19.|Tuesday November 15, 2005|215|71|Saint-Chamond, Bourges|||
|20.|Wednesday November 16, 2005|163|50|Paris region, Arras, Brest, Vitry-le-François, Romans-sur-Isère|||
|**TOTAL**|**20 nights**|**8,973**|**2,888**||||