There is no denying the tragic facts.
There have been a series of violent clashes between gangs of teenagers in Paris and several suburbs of the capital in recent weeks.
Two youngsters died last month in a brawl in the Essonne department; two others were savagely beaten this week by a gang in the Val-de-Marne suburb of Paris; five more a day later in the central XVIth district.
Government spokesman Gabriel Attal has warned that the authorities "will not stand by in the face of a banalisation of violence".
But has there really been an increase in the number of violent incidents involving French adolescents?
The sociologist and CNRS researcher Laurent Mucchielli is far from sure.
"I've been doing this job for the past 25 years," he told France Info radio station, "and I must have seen a dozen similar episodes of political and media panic. Starting from two or three incidents which are a bit more serious than usual, the spotlights are turned on. Suddenly we're on permanent lookout, and anything vaguely linked gets on the front page."
BANDES RIVALES. En France, les rixes entre bandes rivales ont toujours alimenté les faits divers. Dans les années 50, il y avait les « Blousons noirs ». Après les drames survenus la semaine dernière, le dossier des bandes rivales est entre les mains du gouvernement. pic.twitter.com/RzyJ8LQ4F6
— Ina.fr (@Inafr_officiel) March 5, 2021
Laurent Mucchielli says we are once again being made the dupes of the current rage for "the latest news".
He gives the example of Marseille, the southern French port city where, according to Mucchielli, gang violence is virtually endemic.
"Gang battles are a permanent fact. There's a sudden surge of media interest, ministers arrive and, before going home, they promise police reinforcements.
"Surely everyone can understand that a few additional police patrols on the streets of this or that city are not going to do anything to resolve the underlying problems that lead to violence involving teenage gangs?
"It makes no sense."
Another social researcher, Michel Fize, told RFI that gang violence is part of a rite of passage for many youngsters.
"Before you can become an adult, you go through the group phase. You don't become an individual overnight, on your own. You have to find your place, first, inside the group.
"Luckily," adds Michel Fize, "the majority of these adolescent groups are not violent."
More weapons
Official statistics would seem to suggest that there is a growing problem.
Last year, the police recorded 357 clashes between gangs, compared to 288 incidents in 2019. Reliable figures are, however, difficult to establish.
The average age of those involved is 17 years. They are predominantly male.
Michel Fize says gang violence is an inevitable expression of a violent society.
"We have become more violent, we have more respect for physical force," the sociologist and author of the book "France's Moral Crisis", says. "Violence has tended to replace the respect for law and order which characterised older generations."
What is new and profoundly worrying, says Fize, "is the more frequent use of weapons".
And most commentators agree that Covid-related restrictions, involving the closure of sports facilities, gyms and other social outlets, has further complicated the situation.
Judicial reform needed
There has been a recent call by local associations, trade unions and some left-wing politicians for a real effort to teach non-violence, and reinforce those working in mediation and child protection.
"Some young people are in serious psychological distress," says the collective. "There's a need for a dedicated psychiatric service."
The French Justice Minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, is working on a reform of juvenile criminal justice, notably to speed up the judicial process.
"People arrested when they are 16 are being tried when they are 22," he says.
"Some of them have children and have changed their lives. The legal message has no value."
The revised juvenile criminal justice bill will come into effect in September.
