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Police homicides and riots in France

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  • Simon Varaine

    (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier)

  • Raul Magni-Berton

    (ANTHROPO LAB - Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Expérimentale - ETHICS EA 7446 - Experience ; Technology & Human Interactions ; Care & Society : - ICL - Institut Catholique de Lille - UCL - Université catholique de Lille)

  • Sebastian Roché

    (PACTE - Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes)

  • Paul Le Derff

    (CED - Centre Émile Durkheim - IEP Bordeaux - Sciences Po Bordeaux - Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Street riots often follow police killings of citizens. Yet, the majority of police killings do not lead to riots. Why do some police homicides lead to riots while others do not? This paper analyzes the intensity of riots in France using monthly data on arsons targeting private property at the department (sub-regional) level from January 1996 to August 2022 (N = 32,080), in relation to an original dataset on the occurrence and characteristics of police homicides. The results suggest that police homicides have a small overall effect on riots: fewer than 0.3% of arsons in a given department can be attributed to police killings in that department. While most police homicides do not have the potential to trigger riots, certain characteristics significantly increase the likelihood that a riot will occur: the victim has a non-European migratory background, is a French citizen, and the perpetrators belong to specific police forces. The impact also increases when there are multiple victims. We provide suggestive evidence that identification with the victim plays a key role among potential rioters, as does the social integration of the victim.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Varaine & Raul Magni-Berton & Sebastian Roché & Paul Le Derff, 2025. "Police homicides and riots in France," Post-Print hal-05322723, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05322723
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-025-01328-8
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05322723v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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