Racial Profiling Persists: French Police Checks Disproportionately Target Minorities, Survey Reveals

"Have you been checked this year? For what reason? Do you trust the law enforcement?" These are the questions answered by a representative panel of the population about identity checks carried out by law enforcement as part of a large-scale survey conducted by the Ipsos institute last year and unveiled on Tuesday, according to 20minutes. In 2016, the same institute had already conducted this survey. "26% of respondents said they had been checked by the police or gendarmerie at least once in the last five years," the Defender of Rights report reveals. Compared to the 2016 survey, this figure is up 10 points. This increase could be justified by lockdowns, curfews or the many social movements.

The persistence of discrimination, which generates an "erosion of trust" in the police institution, is of greater concern to the Defender of Rights. According to the same survey unveiled on Tuesday, only 50% of all respondents say they are "confident or reassured in the presence of the security forces," notes Defender of Rights Claire Hédon. The 18-24 age group accounts for 41% of those checked, it is specified. 39% of those checked are perceived as "Arab, black or North African," compared to 23% for those who are "exclusively white." "Black or Arab men would thus have twenty times more chance of being checked," it is further specified.

According to an estimate by the Court of Auditors in 2023, the police and gendarmerie services carry out some 32 million identity checks in France each year (excluding traffic checks). For law enforcement, these checks are "little or not effective." Nupes deputy Benjamin François therefore proposes to introduce "an identity check receipt to end discriminatory checks."