Paris, Oct 11 (AP) France's highest administrative authority on Wednesday rejected an effort by rights campaigners to end what they allege is a systemic and generalised practice by French police of targeting Black people and people of Arab descent for stops and checks.

Local grassroots organisations and international rights groups had hoped that a favourable ruling from the Council of State could force deep reforms within French law enforcement to end racial profiling.

Also Read | Israel-Hamas Conflict: India-Led Probe Into Cryptocurrency Heist Reveals Bitcoins, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash Worth Rs 30 Lakh Illegally Transferred to Military Arm of Hamas.

In its decision, the Council of State said witness testimony and other evidence presented in the class-action case established that French police do subject people to checks because of their physical characteristics.

It also said such checks don't appear to be isolated cases and are harmful to the people targeted. But the ruling said discriminatory checks aren't systemic or generalized.

Also Read | Israel-Hamas War: Israeli Strikes Demolish Entire Gaza Neighbourhoods, Hospitals Run Low on Supplies As Only Power Plant in Territory Runs Out of Fuel.

The Council of State is France's ultimate arbiter on the use of power by authorities. The plaintiffs' lawsuit, France's first class-action case against police, was filed in 2021. It included a 220-page file that was chock full of examples of racial profiling by French police.

The complaint was filed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Open Society Justice Initiative and three grassroots organizations that work with youth.

The government has denied systemic discrimination by police.

The nongovernmental organizations took the case to the Council of State after the government failed to meet a four-month deadline to respond to the opening salvo in the class-action suit.

The Council of State then held a landmark hearing on the case last month. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)