French police are using on-the-spot fixed-penalty fines as a new tool for racial profiling, trapping Black and Arab youth in debt reaching tens of thousands of euros, Human Rights Watch, (RE)CLAIM and Maison Communautaire pour un Développement Solidaire (MCDS) said in a joint statement Wednesday.
The report documents police issuing criminal fines for alleged noise nuisance, littering and “illegal discharge of unsanitary liquids” to boys and young men perceived as Black, Arab or North African, as a means to push them out of public spaces in their own neighborhoods. The organizations interviewed 42 affected boys and young men, parents, social workers, and several police officers in Paris, its suburbs, the Greater Lyon area and Grenoble between February 2025 and April 2026. All young men interviewed had received fines as children, including one as young as 13.
The fines carry no basic fair trial protections; the law presumes police incident reports to be accurate until proven otherwise, and the process to contest fines is fraught with obstacles, with most challenges rejected. Among those interviewed, fine debts ranged from €1,600 to €37,000—some social workers said they knew of cases reaching €50,000. One 24-year-old man from the Essonne department south of Paris said the state garnished his monthly salary of €500 to €600 to pay off €36,000 in debt he had accumulated since childhood. Some of those interviewed said they had to choose between paying the fines or paying for food, rent, and electricity. Some opted to close their bank accounts or work informally to avoid debt collection.
The report corroborated a 2025 Defender of Rights analysis that found that police used the fine system to remove youths classified as “undesirables” in police computer systems—a nonlegal classification. The practice is linked to stops and searches that Human Rights Watch documented since 2012 and have deemed discriminatory. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the European Court of Human Rights have condemned these practices in past statements and rulings.
“Racial profiling in France is pervasive and persistent and yet police were granted new powers allowing them to harass racialized youth without any oversight and accountability,” said Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch. “French authorities should immediately take necessary steps to end racial profiling instead of expanding police powers that trap young people in what can be tens of thousands of euros in debt that risks ruining their lives.”
Human rights groups have called on France to remove the three public disturbance offenses from the French Criminal Code, cancel outstanding fine debt, and establish independent oversight over police fining practices. In a June 3 letter, French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez disputed claims that the fines amount to harassment, calling them an “indispensable tool to restore everyday security.” However, he confirmed that the “undesirables” designation in police computer systems has since been removed.
