The killing of a teenager by a police officer this week has revived long-standing questions about the state of the French police and the inability of consecutive governments to reform an institution bound by powerful unions.
In a country beset by regular bouts of unrest that often draw calls for a crackdown on trouble-makers, it can be hard to criticize a force that is under strain and losing staff.
But experts say the authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to accusations by rights groups of rampant racism within the force, racial profiling, and questions about recruitment, training and police doctrine.