The 2005 French Electrocution Case: A History and Context - Clichy-sous-Bois - Shedding Light on a Dark Chapter of French Society

Introduction

FRANCE social issues

The Incident

On October 27, 2005, two teenage boys of African immigrant descent—Zyed Benna (17) and Bouna Traoré (15)—were fatally electrocuted while hiding in an electrical substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, a suburb of Paris.

A third boy, Muhittin Altun (17), of Turkish Kurdish background, survived with severe burns covering approximately 10 percent of his body.

The incident occurred at approximately 6:12 PM when the three teenagers contacted a 20,000-volt electric charge while attempting to hide inside a transformer within an EDF (Electricité de France) power facility.

The Circumstances: Police Chase and Racial Profiling

The sequence of events that led to the tragedy reveals structural patterns of discrimination in French policing.

The three boys had been playing football on a field when they spotted a police patrol.

Fearing lengthy police interrogation—a routine practice in suburban housing projects known as banlieues—they fled in different directions.

Critically, the teenagers were not suspected of any crime. Police had been investigating a suspected burglary at a nearby construction site when the boys simply decided to avoid an identity check.

As one of the boys’ older brothers explained, stop-and-search operations in the banlieues are commonplace, occurring multiple times daily, frequently with hostility, and overwhelmingly targeting non-white individuals and immigrants.

Young men could be detained for lengthy questioning and held at police stations for hours until parents could retrieve them—a practice effectively amounting to harassment.

Despite the apparent harmlessness of the situation, the boys bolted when they saw police.

The three who escaped—Benna, Traoré, and Altun—ran toward a high-voltage electrical substation, scaling the 3-meter enclosure and climbing into a transformer to hide, apparently unaware of the lethal danger.

The Disputed Police Response

The most contentious aspect of the case concerns police officer Sebastien Gaillemin’s actions and statements.

According to police radio transcripts, Gaillemin, who was pursuing the boys, was recorded saying in French: “If they enter the EDF site, I don’t give them much of a chance” (or in some translations: “If they enter site, I wouldn’t pay much for their skins”).

This statement appears to indicate clear awareness that the boys were entering a dangerous electrical facility where they would likely be killed or severely injured.

Despite this statement, Gaillemin did not attempt to prevent the teenagers from entering the substation, did not warn them of the danger, and did not call emergency services.

His colleague, Stephanie Klein, an inexperienced police intern, heard this radio exchange while coordinating police communications but also took no action.

The Immediate Aftermath and Riots

At approximately 6:12 PM on October 27, 2005, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré were electrocuted inside the transformer, their deaths causing a blackout in the surrounding area.

Muhittin Altun, severely burned, managed to call for help.

That same evening, riots erupted in Clichy-sous-Bois and immediately spread across the Paris suburbs and beyond.

Over the course of three weeks of sustained civil unrest, the violence escalated dramatically across France:

Thousands of vehicles were torched

Public buildings were burned

Thousands of people were arrested

A state of emergency was declared

Curfews were imposed

The riots spread from Paris suburbs to other French cities and eventually affected rural areas. This represented one of the most significant periods of social unrest in modern French history.

The Social Context: Immigration, Discrimination, and Alienation

The case exposed deep structural inequalities in French society.

Both Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré came from working-class immigrant families—Benna’s family originated from Tunisia and Traoré’s from Mauritania.

Muhittin Altun came from a Turkish Kurdish background.

These three teenagers were described as well-behaved youth known positively in their community, yet they faced the casual discrimination endemic to French suburban policing.

The riots themselves reflected deeper grievances within France’s banlieues

(1) economic marginalization

(2) systemic discrimination

(3) social alienation and the feeling among immigrant-origin youth that they were unjustly targeted by law enforcement due to their appearance and ethnicity.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls later described France’s suburbs as representing a form of “territorial, social and ethnic apartheid.”

The incident became emblematic of broader tensions between North African and sub-Saharan African immigrant communities and French state institutions.

The Legal Proceedings and 2015 Acquittal

For a full decade, the case remained unresolved, fueling anger and resentment among residents of the banlieues. The two officers were initially not prosecuted, with prosecutors declining to bring charges.

However, France’s highest court eventually ordered prosecutors to proceed with charges against Gaillemin and Klein for “non-assistance to individuals in danger,” a French legal violation carrying penalties of up to five years in prison and 75,000 euros in fines.

The trial finally opened in March 2015, ten years after the incident.

During trial testimony, Gaillemin claimed he had checked twice to verify the youngsters were no longer in the substation and, satisfied they had left, departed the scene.

Both officers broke down in tears during the emotional trial.

On May 18, 2015, a criminal court in Rennes acquitted both police officers of the charges.

Judge Nicolas Leger ruled that neither officer had “clear awareness of grave and imminent danger” as required under French law for conviction.

The prosecutor, Delphine Dewailly, recommended acquittal, stating: “As he was not aware of the danger, he cannot be blamed for not acting to deal with it.” She also appealed to the court: “You don’t ease the pain of one drama by adding another injustice.

However, the families of the two deceased teenagers and Muhittin Altun pursued a civil lawsuit, seeking 1.6 million euros in total compensation and damages.

Their lawyers argued that the officers bore responsibility for failing to assist the boys and insisted the case represented broader questions about whether suburban residents “are entitled to the same justice as other people.”

Reactions and Historical Significance

The acquittal decision raised fears of renewed waves of mistrust, anger, and violent protests reminiscent of riots occurring in other contexts, including recent unrest in the United States.

The verdict immediately sparked concerns about potential new civil unrest in the banlieues.

The case also coincided with heightened political tensions in France.

Following the January 2015 jihadist attacks in Paris perpetrated by youths who had embraced radical Islam, the alienation of suburban residents became a top political priority.

The acquittal decision occurred amid broader debates about integration, radicalization, and the relationship between police practices and extremism recruitment in marginalized communities.

Bouna Traoré’s older brother, Siyakha Traore, expressed particular concern about the case’s implications: “In a democratic country, which is the cradle of human rights, witnessing the ascent of the far right is intolerable.”

His commentary reflected anxiety that the acquittal and broader patterns of discrimination would contribute to radicalization and political polarization.

Conclusion

The 2005 Clichy-sous-Bois electrocution case represents a pivotal moment in modern French history where systemic police discrimination against immigrant-origin youth triggered unprecedented civil unrest.

While the immediate precipitating incident involved an accidental electrocution, the underlying causes reflected deeply rooted patterns of stop-and-search harassment, economic marginalization, and the treatment of immigrant communities as perpetually suspect.

The case is significant not merely for the tragedy of two teenagers’ deaths, but for what it revealed about French social structures and police practices.

The 2015 acquittal of the officers—despite the documented radio statement indicating awareness of imminent danger—highlighted the legal and institutional challenges facing families seeking accountability from law enforcement in the French context.

The incident and subsequent unrest became foundational to contemporary French debates about immigration, integration, police reform, and the legitimacy of state institutions among marginalized populations in the banlieues.