French police are using minor public order fines as a tool of racial discrimination against Black and Arab youths in working-class neighbourhoods, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and two French advocacy groups.
The 68-page report, published on Wednesday in partnership with Reclaim and Maison Communautaire pour un Développement Solidaire, alleges that fines for offences such as littering, noise and pouring liquids in public spaces are disproportionately imposed on Black and Arab children, teenagers and young adults.
The organisations say penalties that typically begin at €135 can escalate into debts worth tens of thousands of euros, affecting employment, housing and family life.
The report argues that these practices form part of a broader pattern of racial profiling documented by rights groups, court rulings and official reports in France.
Lana Holo, a representative of Reclaim and one of the contributors to the report, told The New Arab that the issue could not be reduced to misconduct by a handful of police officers but reflected an "institutional problem" and policies that, according to the report's authors, use fines to push certain groups out of public spaces.
What distinguishes the report from previous studies, the organisations say, is its focus on how financial penalties are used alongside identity checks to target Arab and Black youths.
The fines may begin as relatively small penalties but can quickly accumulate into debts that many of those affected struggle to pay.
The report is based on fieldwork conducted between February 2025 and April 2026, including 42 interviews with people affected by the fines.
Those interviewed included boys and young men who had received dozens of penalties, parents of children and teenagers who had also been targeted, social workers and police officers. Researchers also reviewed debt files and penalty notices.
The report covers Paris and its suburbs, Lyon and its suburbs, and Grenoble.
According to the findings, all the boys and young men interviewed received their first fines before turning 18, while one received his first penalty at the age of 13.
Bénédicte Jeannerod, director of Human Rights Watch's France office, told The New Arab that the report emerged after years of testimonies collected by associations working in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Among them was Maison Communautaire pour un Développement Solidaire in Paris's 20th arrondissement, which helped prepare the report.
She said concerns first emerged when boys and young men repeatedly reported receiving fines through the post, with some receiving several penalties at the same time.
"It quickly became clear that these were not isolated cases," she said.
Describing those targeted, Jeannerod said they were "Black or Arab children, teenagers and young adults, or people of North African origin, or those perceived as such, living in working-class neighbourhoods".
She argued that the report demonstrates a "continuity and a fundamental link" between discriminatory identity checks and the imposition of fines because the same groups are repeatedly targeted.
According to Jeannerod, the fines are also used "to remove these children, teenagers and young adults from public space", particularly given the use in some police records of the term "undesirable persons". Unlawful descriptions in police records The phrase "undesirable person" does not appear on penalty notices, which are usually sent to the homes of those fined.
Instead, the notices generally contain only brief descriptions such as "noise", "litter" or "pouring liquids".
However, the organisations involved in the report said they obtained internal police documents containing such descriptions, which they argue violate French law.
Holo told The New Arab that the notices provide very little information because details of the alleged offences are typically contained in police reports, particularly when cases reach court.
"We noted, in a police report relating to a case involving three individuals, direct use of the idea of 'undesirable persons' in public space," she said.
"Although this term is unlawful, it existed in databases used by the police, without clear instructions or explanations as to what makes someone undesirable."
According to the report, one of the key concerns is that police officers can issue fines without meaningful judicial oversight.
An officer decides to issue a penalty and writes a report that is presumed valid unless proven otherwise.
Jeannerod said the system effectively places police officers in the role of both witness and adjudicator.
"The police officer becomes a judge in this fines system," she said.
"The officer says that he observed an incident and imposed a penalty on that basis, but these observations recorded in police reports are highly subjective."
She added that challenging a fine can be difficult because individuals are often required to prove they did not commit the alleged offence.
Holo said the system gives disproportionate weight to police accounts.
"The police officer's testimony becomes, in this system, a valid testimony, meaning that the subjective perception of police officers becomes reality," she said.
The report cites cases in which young people received fines for incidents they could not have committed.
One individual was in hospital during the period covered by several fines, another was on a flight, and a third was in Tunisia, as confirmed by passport stamps.
The organisations also highlighted court rulings against police officers accused of falsifying penalties.
A court in Tarascon convicted two officers of forgery after they fabricated offences and forged signatures, while a court in Nanterre convicted another officer of falsifying fines against a 16-year-old boy who proved he was elsewhere at the time of the alleged offence.
The report also states that officers sometimes issue multiple fines for noise, littering and pouring liquids within a short period, dramatically increasing the total amount owed.
Combined, these penalties can amount to €405. The sum rises to €1,125 if payment deadlines are missed and can reach €2,250 if a case proceeds to court.
Researchers documented cases in which debts eventually reached tens of thousands of euros.
One individual accumulated €37,000 in fines and related penalties.
Naima, a Paris-based mother of three sons who all received such fines, told The New Arab that her eldest son owes around €12,000, while her youngest still owes approximately €1,930 despite more than €1,100 being deducted from his salary.
She said authorities also informed her son's employer about the debt, something she described as humiliating.
As a single mother, she said she could not afford to pay the debts on behalf of her children.
Naima said the impact extended beyond the financial burden.
One son left his job because repeated salary deductions made it difficult to continue working, while another avoided leaving the house during the day for fear of being stopped by police or receiving further fines.
She added that two of her sons experienced psychotic episodes during which they felt watched and pursued, and that one remains under psychiatric care.
The report cites similar cases of young men leaving jobs, turning to undeclared work or closing bank accounts to avoid debt collection, while others reduced the amount of time they spent outside their homes. Government rejects allegations Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on 22 May along with a copy of the report, requesting the ministry's response to its findings.
Nunez replied two days before publication.
He rejected the report's claim that the fines amount to harassment, emphasised that recipients have the right to challenge penalties, and described the fines as "indispensable tools for restoring security in daily life".
He also said the classification "undesirable persons" had been removed from police information systems.
The organisations behind the report are calling for the abolition of offences related to noise, littering and pouring liquids, the suspension of enforcement while reforms are considered, the cancellation of related debts and the introduction of independent oversight of the fines system.