This event ignited pre-existing tensions . Protesters told The Associated Press the unrest was an expression of frustration with high unemployment and police harassment and brutality . " People are joining together to say we 've had enough " , said one protester . " We live in ghettos . Everyone lives in fear . " The rioters ' suburbs are also home to a large , mostly North African , immigrant population , allegedly adding religious tensions , which some commentators believed contribute further to such frustrations and the racism against Muslims after the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War of the Bush administration . However , according to Pascal Mailhos , head of the '' Renseignements Généraux '' ( French intelligence agency ) radical Islamism or Islamic terrorism had no influence over the 2005 civil unrest in France
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
2005 French riots