European Court's Landmark Decision: A Wake-Up Call for France and Nations on Racial Profiling

PARIS — The first encounter Issa Coulibaly had with French police occurred during his teenage years. On his way to a gym in his neighborhood, seeking relief from the confinements of his apartment with his parents and seven siblings, he was unexpectedly pulled into a police vehicle by an officer. Coulibaly, who emigrated from Mali as a child, recalled the bewilderment and inquiry from the officers regarding his whereabouts and acquaintances, along with demands for identification. “It lasted five minutes, marking the commencement of a troubling pattern,” he shared. At 45, Coulibaly, now president of the Association Pazapas Belleville and a social worker, reflects on the prevalence of racially charged encounters faced by youth who share his background in France. A recent European Court of Human Rights ruling deemed France’s racial profiling practices unlawful, affirming that such discrimination undermines fundamental rights. French society, grappling with its colonial legacy, continues to witness systemic inequalities that impede true integration and equality, a struggle echoes in Coulibaly's ongoing activism and advocacy for change.

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