Rights groups launch legal action over ‘race discrimination’ by French police

Police officers check identity documents at Saint-Charles railway station in Marseille, southern France (Claude Paris/AP)

Six non-governmental organisations in France have launched a class-action lawsuit against the government for alleged systemic discrimination by police officers carrying out identity checks.

The organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, contend that French police use racial profiling in ID checks, targeting black people and those of Arab descent.