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Before Nahel Merzouk was shot at point-blank range during a traffic stop in Nanterre, policing practices in the peripheral banlieues were also responsible for the June 2016 death of Adama Traoré in Beaumont-sur-Oise. Adama did not have his identity documents on him. Neither did Zyed and Bouna, two adolescents who died after hiding from police in an electrical substation in the neighborhood of Clichy-sous-Bois on October 27, 2005. The slogan “Mort Pour Rien” (Dead for Nothing) reflected the collective anger of the 2005 protesters in banlieues across France. Given the presumed “guilt” of visible minorities who are unable to produce ID documents at a moment’s notice, who could blame Zyed and Bouna for being so afraid that they ran and hid?
