Unlike recent riots in the United Kingdom, which were inter-ethnic, the confrontations in France put their participants face to face with the police. Indeed, there is no specific religious or ethnic character to these riots, in so far as youth from various ethnic backgrounds have taken part.
而法国的情况的特殊性在于，骚乱针对的是国家，更为准确地说是针对警察。英国最近的骚乱发生在种族之间，与此不同，在法国的对抗中，骚乱参与者与警察针锋相对。实际上，尽管不同种族背景的年轻人参与了骚乱，这些骚乱中并没有特别的宗教或种族特征。