French PM says boarding school key step in preventing juvenile violence

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal continued his offensive against juvenile delinquency in Nice, with a visit to an experimental educational boarding school to illustrate the prevention aspects of a plan he unveiled last week in Paris.

France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal laughs with pupils at the school cafeteria during a visit to the Parc Imperial High School to launch an "educational boarding school" experiment for challenging pupils in Nice, south-eastern France on 22 April, 2024. AFP - VALERY HACHE

The French prime minister visited the Lycée du Parc Impérial in Nice on Monday, where an educational boarding school is being tested during the school holidays.

Attal took part in a discussion with teenagers taking part in the course – some of whom were reluctant – as well as with parents, local political leaders and volunteers  participating in the experiment.

"We must not be afraid of words, there is a problem of violence among young people" and "tackling this problem is one of my government's top priorities", Attal declared at the end of the discussion.

EN DIRECT | Point presse du Premier ministre, @GabrielAttal, depuis l’internat de la cité scolaire du parc Impérial de Nice. https://t.co/ywYlkfggSR

— Gouvernement (@gouvernementFR) April 22, 2024

Investing in prevention

Last Thursday, Attal announced the launch of "very strong measures in terms of punishment" in the combat against delinquency during a visit to the southern Paris suburb of Viry-Châtillon.

It was here where 15-year-old Shemseddine was beatten to death by a gang on 5 April.

Attal condemned the "addiction of some of our adolescents to violence", calling for "a real surge of authority... to curb violence".

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The French head of government pushed ahead with his message in Nice, saying: "if we concentrate on intervention at the time of punishment – in response to acts of delinquency and violence – we would be missing a large part of the issue: ensuring that these acts of violence and delinquency do not happen [in the first place]".

"This means investing more in prevention as early as possible to prevent young people from falling into delinquency", he continued.

Attal has particularly advocated the boarding school solution: "We have around 50,000 empty boarding places in France today, which is crazy when you think about it, even though we know that there are many parents who are overwhelmed and who could [see] an advantage in it", he said.

"During the year, we are going to place many more young people in boarding schools to prevent them from drifting, but also during the holidays ... breakaway stays like this could be a solution", he concluded. 

Attal also said he was in favour of speeding up punishment for certain misdemeanors, for example confiscating scooters from reckless drivers and applying "immediate fines" rather than wait for a judge's decision.

Attal also announced that the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti would sign off on a legal text that would allow children under 16  to be put into "work camps" during the holidays. Until now, this was only reserved for children over 16.

Government gets tough, post-riots

Since riots swept across France last summer, the government has vowed to get tougher on juvenile delinquents – with the support of the army if necessary – and hold parents responsible for their children's actions.

The riots and looting – France's worst in almost two decades – broke out after a teenager of North African descent was shot dead by police after he failed to stop for a traffic check in the multi-ethnic working class suburb of Nanterre, near Paris.

The violence spread throughout France, affecting some small towns in rural areas – several of which introduced curfews.