On October 27th 2005 two French youth, Zyed Benna, 17, and Bouna Traore, 15 died from hiding in an electrical transformer while being pursued by police officers.  In response to their death, riots broke out in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.  These riots soon spread to other surrounding suburbs within the next few days.  The participants in these riots were youth ranging from the ages of twelve to young men in their mid twenties.  The outrage felt over the two “accidental” deaths of these boys resulted in thousands of vehicles and several buildings burned as well as 126 police and fire fighters injured.

These riots lasted a total of twenty nights and caused severe devastation. The government was up in arms as to how to handle the situation. Only until Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin allowed President at the time, Jacque Chirac, to declare the French Republic under a state of emergency, did the riots calm down. Mandatory curfews were put in place in order to quell the nightly violence that ravaged the country’s suburbs.

One question that is still in heavy contention in France is who these rioters really are and what can possibly be done to resolve the complex issue of citizenship in France?