France: Violence among young people shakes the country

Dead and injured
Four attacks within a week: Violence among young people is stirring up France

There have recently been several outbreaks of violence among young people in France. Two adolescents have died and one is on the mend after a coma.

The 15-year-old probably wanted to mediate – and paid for it with his life in Romans-sur-Isère. He intervened in a fight between young people, said the public prosecutor’s office in Valence in the southeast France. She has started an investigation into intentional homicide. Witnesses and images from surveillance cameras provided information about the perpetrator and several suspects. They are being actively searched for. A person connected to the suspects is in police custody. The victim was fatally stabbed in the back.

The teenager’s death is the latest incident in a series of multiple acts of violence that have rocked the country within a week. “It is unacceptable that stabbings become a banal act,” said the town’s mayor, Marie-Hélène Thoraval, to the broadcaster CNews.

Girl beaten because of Ramadan

Also on Tuesday according to the newspapers “Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace” (DNA) and “Le Figaro” A 13-year-old was beaten by four minors of Muslim faith because they accused her of not observing the Ramadan fast. The girl said she was approached by three girls and a boy on the school bus and beaten after getting off. The young people were around 15 years old and fled after the attack. The slightly injured student later filed a police report with her father.

Last week, a 15-year-old student was beaten to death by four young men in the Paris suburb of Viry-Châtillon. The three 17-year-olds and a 20-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder are said to have beaten the student on the way home from school and left him unconscious. According to the mayor, he was found in a stairwell, “he was no longer responsive.” The teenager died in a Paris clinic.

Brothers are said to have killed 15-year-olds

Two brothers are among the suspected perpetrators. According to the investigators, the two are said to have learned that their younger sister had discussed sexual topics with the future victim; The teenager also allegedly boasted about his contacts with his sister. The brothers feared for the reputation of their sister and her family and ambushed the student together with the other two suspected accomplices.

The deadly attack caused dismay from politicians. Following a request from right-wing populist Marine Le Pen, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal promised “very effective measures” to restore “order” on the streets, in schools and in families. “There will never be a right to fight in our country, (…) a right to attack a boy because he loves a girl, a right to attack a girl because she does not hold the same beliefs, including religious beliefs ” said Attal. He did not give any details about his plans.

Youth violence in France horrifies politicians

The French Minister for Education and Youth, Nicole Belloubet, wrote on She also thinks of the school community, whose endless sadness she can understand. “I stand with them and reiterate that we will never accept the horror of violence.”

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti criticized the use of the word “honor killing” that had been used by some media in the 15-year-old’s case. “There is no honor killing (crime d’honneur), there are only horror killings (crimes d’horreur),” he said.

13-year-old beaten into a coma

Two days earlier, in Montpellier, southern France, a 13-year-old was almost beaten to death by three teenagers in front of her school. Two 14 and 15 year old students and a 14 year old female student were taken into police custody. The teenager was temporarily put into an artificial coma, but is now feeling better again. The student is said to have been bullied by the others. The media quoted the mother as suggesting that this could be due to the fact that, unlike many other Muslim classmates, she did not wear a headscarf.

The lawyer for one of the suspects said to the French broadcaster “BMFTV”that “the harassment has taken place since the start of school” but that it was caused by the 13-year-old and not his client. He also stated that “the religious aspect plays no role at all in this case.” According to the public prosecutor’s office, this outbreak of violence originated in “insults” between students on social networks, reported “BMFTV”.

However, the phenomenon is not new. Romans-sur-Isère, where a 15-year-old died on Tuesday, was already in the headlines in mid-November: a large group of young people from there had attacked a party in the neighboring town of Crépol. A number of people were injured and a 16-year-old was stabbed. Investigations are underway against 20 people suspected of being involved at the time.

Sources: DPA, AFP, “France Bleu” on the stabbed man in Romans-sur-Isère, “France Bleu” on the police presence in Romans-sur-Isère, “Midi Libre” on the man killed in Romans-sur-Isère, “Dernières nouvelles d’Alsace” on the incident in Achenheim, “Le Figaro” in Achenheim, “France Bleu” to the slain near Paris, Mayor interview on “France Info”, “Midi Libre” on the Montpellier incident, “BMFTV” to Montpellier,