European Court Condemns French Police for Doing Their Job
30th June 2025
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday, June 26th, ruled against France in a ‘racial profiling’ case following complaints from individuals who felt they had been targeted on the basis of racial criteria during police checks.
The ECHR decision that confirmed police ‘discrimination’ for the first time in France brings the issue of ethnic statistics back to the forefront: although banned in France, recording ethnicity would in fact help to set the record straight. If police officers ‘target’ certain populations during routine checks, it is because they are overrepresented among fraudsters and offenders.
The lawsuit was based on the case of a certain Karim Touil, who was stopped nearly 15 years ago and who believes he was the victim of police harassment because of his ethnic origin. Five other cases were also heard by the Court, but were dismissed.