Mayor of French city bans traffic for under 13s – As a… measure for juvenile delinquency

The mayor of Béziers, in southern France, introduced the curfew measure for under-13s, a measure already taken by the government in a city in the French Antilles in the fight against juvenile delinquency, which is also being considered in Nice .

The mayor, a former close associate of Rally National leader Marine Le Pen (far right), signed a decree yesterday stating that “any minor under the age of 13 will not be able, unaccompanied by an adult, to circulate between 11 p.m. and 06.00 on public roads’ in three ‘priority districts’, i.e. the historic center and two poor districts.

“In the event of an emergency or immediate danger to themselves or another person,” these minors will be able to be “taken to their home or to the police station” by the municipal or national police, Mayor Robert Menard’s decree states.

Menard justifies his decision by the “increasing number of minors who are left to their own devices in the middle of the night”, as well as by the worsening of the phenomenon of “urban violence”.

Asked by AFP, Ménard did not give specific figures, but pointed out that crime among under-13s is a “blind spot” in statistical studies due to the lack of legal action.

France: Reactions to the prohibition measure in Béziers

Trade unions and organizations of the left are demonstrating today “against the ideas of the extreme right” in this city.

According to the first record of “Crime and Insecurity in 2023”, published in early 2024 by the Home Office, under-13s account for 2% of suspects in attacks against people (compared to 36% for 30 to 44 years old) and 1% for violent theft suspects (versus 44% for 18 to 29 year olds).

In 2018, the Council of State annulled a similar decree signed in 2014 by Robert Ménard, pointing out the absence of “concrete evidence likely to support the existence of specific risks, which are related to minors under 13”.

A curfew affecting minors under the age of 18 was imposed just last night in Pointe-a-Pitre, the financial capital of Guadeloupe, in the French Antilles.

The measure, which aims to tackle rising youth delinquency, was taken this time following a decision by France’s interior minister, Géral Darmanin.

The mayor of Pointe-a-Pitre, who comes from the Environmental Greens, Harry Dirimel, who had described his town as “ruthless” in late March, welcomed the measure.

According to him, the percentage of juveniles committing crimes has increased from 12% to 38% in an overseas department that is at the mercy of high crime, according to the district.

France: The measure is also being considered by the mayor of Nice

Today, the mayor of Nice (southeast) Christian Estrozzi, who is on the side of President Emmanuel Macron, assessed in his statements to BFMTV that “the mayor of Béziers is right” and that he himself would like to “renew” a decree related to minors under the age of 13, which had entered into force between 2009 and 2020.

Other cities in France have implemented similar ordinances for minors for limited periods of time, such as Cannes-sur-Mer (southeast), which did so in 2004 for under-13s.

A “wave of power” against minors was made a priority by Prime Minister Gabriel Atal last week, marking his first 100 days as head of the French government.

After a series of incidents of violent attacks involving young people, Atal denounced the “addiction to violence” on the part of a section of the youth.

“The number of minors involved in incidents of physical violence has doubled, the number of young people involved in drug trafficking has quadrupled and the number of minors involved in armed robbery has increased sevenfold compared to the general population,” the French prime minister said, announcing measures that mainly concerned the school.