The riots that have raged across France for the past five days appear to be coming to an end, but unrest is still simmering among the country's immigrant population.

‌Five days of violence were sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old delivery driver of north African descent during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on June 27.

S‌ince then protests have erupted across the country, resulting in the arrests of 3,400 people. One of the protesters is Bilel, who works at Lyon-Saint-Exupery Airport. 

For the past week, he's protested late into the night against what he says is a longstanding problem with attitudes towards immigrants in France.

"Many people think that we all protest because a young person was killed by police in Paris in Nanterre, but that's not the case," says Bilel. "This is the last point, there were many other problems before."

Bilel is French-born of African descent, and says millions of people like him feel like second-class citizens.

He added: "The problem is they think we are just Africans, and that we come from other countries, and that is the problem with France. It's a big problem because they persist with this, we need to change that vision. They think we are immigrants, but we are all French, I was born in France, I was born in Lyon."

Parts of the city are now showing the scars of that frustration: broken windows, plywood covering up shops and graffiti saying 'Justice for Nahel' and 'No justice no peace'.

The protests have come at a cost for some business owners, whose premises have been damaged, forcing them to contact police for help.

"When things like this happen we get police almost immediately, they come to see us and tell us what to do, for example, to take down the prices or put the mannequins and clothes in the back," said local business owner Felix.

But trust in the police isn't shared by the wider community, which is dominated by people of North African descent. Despite being born in France and growing up here, many say they feel isolated and abandoned by the country's institutions.

"I think (young people) have a feeling of total abandonment and rupture," said Xavier Damount, anthropologist and civil worker. 

"Some of them think they don't have anything to lose anymore. But this is just a minority of the youth. A large majority, which are not visible, manage to integrate, to have an education and a certain success in society. But those ones don't make the headlines."

The shooting has highlighted deep-rooted divisions in France and President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to harshly punish those involved in the rioting – leaving people worried about what the death of one man really says about the lives of many.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday