By V4 Agency
In an interview with V4NA, the secretary general of a French police union spoke about the violence that often affects minors, the causes of the escalating gang wars and possible solutions. In his view, much tougher action and harsher punishment would be needed.
Violence in France has escalated to an unprecedented level recently. Not a single week goes by without a violent incident involving young people making it to the headline. Since mid-February, when a 15-year-old boy was brutally assaulted, a growing number of similar incidents have taken place. They nearly always follow the same scenario: two rival gangs clash over a dispute. The motive behind the brawl in many cases is something trivial that is blown out of proportion by spreading it on social media. Regretfully, gang wars sometimes have fatalities, with victims often being minors at an increasingly young age. On 22 February, a gang war claimed the life of a schoolgirl, aged 14, in Essonne department in the Paris region. A boy of the same age was stabbed to death the following day.
Michel Thooris, secretary general of the French police union France Police, spoke about the dismaying phenomenon in an exclusive interview with V4NA.
How do you explain this high rate of violent crime committed by young people in France? Moreover, minors involved in gang wars are increasingly young. Why do these gangs fight with one another?
There may be several reasons underlying the phenomenon, including family issues, the failure of national education, the prohibition for teachers to use disciplinary punishment, and the fact that minors cannot be penalised thanks to a decree issued in 1945. More and more minors get involved in drug trafficking gangs, rap culture and social media are also extremely popular with young people, these are all factors that contribute to the growing level of violence perpetrated by minors. These gangs of young people fight for territories. Joining such a gang is the first step on the road to becoming a criminal, this is the first test for minors to assess their abilities.
What is your view as to why some of these extreme acts of violence are occurring during the curfew period imposed due to the health crisis?
The mob does not comply with the curfew. It is impossible to fine individuals in gang wars because of the sheer numbers of perpetrators and the high risk of resisting police. If the authorities do manage to catch some offenders, in many cases the punishment is ineffective because minors are unable to pay.
What weapons do young gang members typically use?
Anything they can stab, hit, or cut with such as knives, hammers, axes and brass knuckles. Social media also play a significant role in escalating violence. Often members of rival gangs provoke each other on social media sites and clashes are also organised as to when and where via the internet.
What can the police do to counter this phenomenon? What is the French government’s response to the increasingly violent gang wars?
This is primarily not a police problem, but rather a judicial problem. Juvenile detention is needed, and to that end, the method used in Australia to imprison juveniles should be considered.
What measures does your union propose to end youth violence?
A policy of zero tolerance would be needed for juvenile gang members who should be detained in penitentiary centres specifically designed for juvenile offenders located outside the departement of their residence. Furthermore, the social assistance provided to the parents of juvenile offenders should be systematically withdrawn. In addition, it could be effective if teachers had the means to punish unmanageable students. Today, it is the teachers who are afraid of their students, when that should be the other way around.
Despite the current health crisis, do you think the issue of public safety will play a central role in the forthcoming 2022 presidential election?
Yes, without a doubt.