France seeks clampdown on teen violence after boy’s stabbing

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Earlier this month, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a series of measures to crack down on teenage violence in and around schools as the government seeks to reclaim ground on security from the far-right ahead of June elections. — AFP pic

ORLEANS (France), April 29 — France’s government today sought wide political support to respond to teen violence after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death by another teenager at the weekend, the latest in a string of youth attacks that have shocked the country.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has scheduled a series of meetings with parties across the political spectrum.

France has seen a series of attacks on adolescents by their peers in recent weeks, with far-right and conservative politicians citing the violence as they slam the government’s immigration policies, weeks before European Parliament elections.

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In the latest attack, a 15-year-old was killed in a brawl in the central French town of Chateauroux on Saturday and died in hospital the same evening.

The suspect is a boy of “Afghan origin”, according to a source close to the investigation.

He and his 37-year-old mother were detained and expected to appear before a judge today, with prosecutors saying there is evidence suggesting that she might have been involved.

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The motive for the street fight was not immediately clear, the source close to the investigation told AFP, adding that it “had nothing to do with Islamism”.

Earlier this month, Attal announced a series of measures to crack down on teenage violence in and around schools as the government seeks to reclaim ground on security from the far-right ahead of June elections.

The announcement came after a 15-year-old was beaten to death outside Paris in early April.

Attal has floated the possibility of children in exceptional cases being denied the right to special treatment on account of their age in legal cases. In France, the age of majority is 18.

Later today, Attal was to receive Manuel Bompard, a senior figure in the France Unbowed (LFI) hard-left party, and also meet with representatives of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp.

‘Savagery and extreme violence’

Pointing to the latest attack, far-right and conservative politicians once again accused the French government of not doing enough on security and immigration.

“This is another tragedy linked to our migration policy”, Jordan Bardella, whose anti-immigration National Rally (RN) has soared ahead of the government coalition in polls, said on X.

Attal and Bardella are set to meet on Thursday.

Bruno Retailleau, the head of the right-wing Republicans faction in the upper house of parliament, called for “a penal revolution and a genuine immigration law”.

Saturday’s victim, a 15-year-old apprentice chef and son of a restaurant owner, had no previous criminal record and was accompanied by a friend, also an apprentice, at the time of the violence, according to sources.

Authorities have launched an investigation into voluntary manslaughter.

The suspected attacker “has never been convicted of a criminal offence and has no criminal record”, according to the regional prosecutor.

But earlier this month he had been placed under judicial supervision following other infractions.

A witness interviewed by AFP said the boy was among a group of assailants who had attacked a 22-year-old man in a local park a week earlier.

Chateauroux Mayor Gil Averous told reporters that the victim’s parents “do not want this to be exploited for political gain”.

“This is very hard for the town,” Averous told AFP.

“The murderer has been arrested twice in recent weeks,” the mayor also pointed out.

“Both the perpetrator and the victim are 15 years old. For me, this is proof of savagery and extreme violence that our society is seeing among minors”, said Averous.

“There is an urgent need to redefine policies in this area”, he added. — AFP