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From Our Own Correspondent: Grief and grievance in France's banlieues

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A lone protestor silhouetted against flames on 30 June 2023

08/07/2023 GMT

Grief and grievance in France's banlieues

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Grief and grievance in France's banlieues

What was behind the riots that erupted in France after police killed a 17 year old boy?

The roots of protest in France; the Syrian girl whose parents were deported while she was at school; and our correspondent reunites with his Ukrainian nanny after decades apart.

Pascale Harter introduces correspondent reports from France, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.

At the end of June, French police killed a 17-year old young man of North African origin after stopping the car he was driving. The death of Nahel Merzouk led to days of rioting and looting in Paris and other cities. Town halls, schools, and police stations were among the buildings attacked, and thousands of protesters were arrested. But what underlies the anger that erupted on France's streets, and what does the death mean for the mother who lost her only child? Katya Adler went to the Paris suburb where Nahel lived, and died.

In Lebanon, there has been an increasing backlash against the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees still living in the country - 12 years after the start of Syria's civil war. Lebanon itself is going through one of the harshest economic recessions in the world, and in recent months the authorities have begun deporting undocumented Syrians back to Syria. Recently, however, there was an outcry over one particular case: a seven-year-old schoolgirl whose parents were deported back to Damascus while she sat in her classroom. Carine Torbey went to meet her and hear her story.

And our correspondent is reunited with his Ukrainian nanny, after decades apart and a journey across Europe. Ibrat Safo grew up in Uzbekistan where, as a toddler, he was looked after by a Ukrainian-Uzbek young woman. In the years after the Soviet Union collapsed, their families lost touch. But as an adult, when Russia invaded her maternal homeland, he had to know that she was safe. He tells us the story of how he found her.
 
(Image: A lone protestor silhouetted against flames on 30 June 2023, following the death of Nahel Merzouk, the teenager killed by a French police officer during a traffic stop. Credit: Juan Medina/Reuters)

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