Since 2020, the investigative NGO Index has been conducting counter-investigations into police violence in France. From the death of Adama Traoré to that of Nahel Merzouk, its reports aim to establish the facts in cases where denial is the norm.

With Éclairages, Index shifts its focus. The book brings together the interviews and analyses published by the NGO between 2024 and 2025, to lay out the background to the cases it documents. Giving voice to sociologists, legal scholars, researchers, journalists, and activists, the collection explores different forms of institutional violence, the discriminatory logics that run through them, and the places where they intensify: from working-class neighbourhoods to the French overseas territories and the country’s border zones.

The book is meant as a resource for understanding the conditions in which state violence is exercised today.

144 pages, 14 × 21 cm. Graphic design: Émilie Ferrat, Espace Ness. ISBN 978-2-95948-87-4. Retail price: €20.00.

The book is published and distributed independently by Index. All revenue from sales goes directly towards funding Index’s work.

Where to find it

Paris / Île-de-France

Lyon

Marseille

Angers

Geneva

Brussels

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