The first of these riots began on 4 February 2017, in suburbs of Paris, following the alleged rape of a black man named Théo L. by police with a baton.

[citation needed] The second set of riots began late March when a Chinese man was fatally shot by police officers in Paris.

[3] On 2 February 2017, four police officers approached a group of young people at 4:53 PM in the Rose-des-Vents neighborhood of Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), a Paris suburb.

[7] Following the incident, Luhaka suffered from a longitudinal 10 cm wound to his anal canal and sphincter muscle, probably caused by the insertion of a telescopic stick, which resulted in a temporary disability (ITT) of sixty days.

[8] Luhaka said also he was the object of racist insults (including the word "bamboula"), suffered new blows in the police car, and claims to have been photographed in a humiliating position by policemen using Snapchat.

[9] At the hearing for the policeman indicted for rape, the police stated that they only hit Théo's legs and they have no idea how Luhaka was injured.

[2] On 14 February 2017, L'Obs published the testimony of Mohamed K. who says he had been a victim of violence of the same officer who is the primary accused in the Théo case, a week earlier — a policeman nicknamed "Red Beard".

While the protest was mostly peaceful, a small group of protestors began throwing objects at police and setting cars on fire.

On the night of the 15th, 49 people were arrested around Paris after engaging in similar behaviors with most of the unrest occurring near the Gare du Nord and Place de la République.

[21] Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, called for better law enforcement on 7 February 2017, saying "I know how exposed the police and gendarmes are in the fight against terrorism and violence, but they must be absolutely exemplary at every moment.

[25][26] On 15 February, dozens of artists published a message of support for Theo L. in Libération, written by a councilor of Brétigny-sur-Orge, Steevy Gustave, a former event manager for SOS Racisme,[27] making some suggestions in order to improve the performance of law enforcement.

"[32] Front National presidential candidate Marine Le Pen similarly announced support for police and criticized the French government for not cracking down on rioters harder.

Police claimed that Liu immediately charged them with a pair of scissors after they opened the door to his house and shot him dead.