Twenty years after the tragic deaths of Zyed Benna, 17, and Bouna Traoré, 15, the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois continues to bear the scars of that fateful evening — one that ignited 21 nights of riots and exposed France’s deep social divides.
The two teenagers were electrocuted in 2005 while hiding in an electrical substation, fleeing a police identity check. Their deaths became a national symbol of alienation and mistrust between French authorities and young people in working-class suburbs.
A Tragic Evening
As dusk fell on 27 October 2005, a group of ten boys were walking home after a football game. Mistaken for burglars by a local resident, police were called. Fourteen officers arrived, sparking a chaotic chase through the streets of Clichy-sous-Bois.
Three boys — Zyed, Bouna, and their friend Muhittin — climbed into an EDF electrical substation to hide. One officer reportedly warned over his radio: “If they go onto the site, I wouldn’t give much for their chances.”
Minutes later, 20,000 volts surged through the facility, killing Zyed and Bouna instantly. Muhittin survived with severe burns and was able to recount what had happened. Within hours, anger and grief erupted across the neighbourhood.
Unrest Spreads Across France
The following day, images of burning cars filled global news screens. The riots spread quickly from Paris’s outskirts to cities nationwide. On 7 November, then-Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin declared a state of emergency — the first since the Algerian War.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Interior Minister, drew widespread criticism for inflammatory remarks about suburban youth, calling them “scum.” In contrast, Azouz Begag, Minister for Equal Opportunities, urged a focus on justice and opportunity rather than repression.
‘Still Stuck in Denial’
Marking the 20th anniversary, de Villepin reflected that France has yet to fully address the issues exposed by the 2005 unrest.
“We are still stuck in denial and neglect,” he said. “These boys were children of France — victims of segregation and of the Republic turning its back.”
He urged a national reckoning based on truth and justice: “Truth is not a political risk — it is the foundation of democratic life.”
De Villepin also criticised the government’s rush to repeat inaccurate information in 2005 and denounced comments that “fuelled resentment and portrayed some citizens as problems to be solved.”
Enduring Inequality
The former prime minister described France as divided into “two speeds” — one where the state is present and another where it feels distant or punitive.
He pointed to later protests — from the Yellow Vests movement in 2018 to the 2023 police killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old in Nanterre — as proof that many citizens still feel unheard and abandoned.
For residents of France’s working-class suburbs, the legacy of 2005 remains a powerful reminder of inequality and mistrust in authority.
A decade after the tragedy, two police officers were tried for failing to assist the boys but were acquitted, with the court ruling they were unaware of the imminent danger.
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