Their first names made the front page of the national media.
Lilibelle and Toumani, both 14 years old, lost their lives last week in Essonne in two inter-district brawls.
And this in 24 hours, in two points of the department.
Lilibelle in Saint-Chéron, a rural and quiet town, and Toumani in Boussy-Saint-Antoine, a town which has become, despite itself, a battleground for some young people from neighboring cities.
These dramas acted as the revealer, at the national level, of a phenomenon that exploded in Essonne in 2020 (according to the prefecture, there were 91 fights there in 2020, against 56 in 2019).
To the point of being qualified as "systemic" by the prosecutor of Evry-Courcouronnes, Caroline Nisand.
So, faced with younger and more violent brawls, what solutions?
READ ALSO>
Brawl between gangs in Evry-Courcouronnes: the stab "left alone"
This question occupied minds during a meeting at the prefecture of Essonne on Monday.
First short-term measure: generalize "within a month", in the cities most affected, "alert loops" on "instant messaging".
WhatsApp loops between generalized institutions
This idea is notably inspired by the success of a WhatsApp loop created in November 2020 in Corbeil-Essonnes.
It alerts the slightest "weak signals" of brawls between the districts of Tarterêts and Montconseil.
Among the participants are the police, firefighters, youth institutions, elected officials, mediators and residents.
"This device allows us to be informed, day and night, of brawls in preparation, and to intervene quickly to prevent them", explains the mayor (DVG), Bruno Piriou.
Thus, about fifteen fights have been avoided since the end of 2020, in particular in front of the Doisneau high school.
According to an internal note that we were able to consult, the local authorities are also working on the creation of a “minor in danger” file.
It would help support families of teenagers likely to plunge into the spiral of inter-neighborhood violence.
Newsletter The essential of 91
A tour of the news of Essonne and Île-de-France
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
However, Bruno Piriou believes that these devices alone are not enough.
“Faced with the prefect, I underlined the absence of a youth policy,” confided the elected official.
In Corbeil, we are going to organize Youth Assizes.
It is also urgent to reopen gymnasiums, sports halls and cultural establishments.
"
"For the little ones, fighting is like a game"
Idleness, breeding ground for violence between gangs?
“For the little ones, fighting is like a game at recess,” notes Malason, a 29-year-old educator in the Pyramides district in Evry-Courcouronnes.
When we were younger, we used to go to the Agora shopping center to have sex.
It was football or that.
However, those against whom they are fighting are young people from working-class neighborhoods like them.
The only difference with their enemies is the name of the street!
"
READ ALSO>
Ile-de-France: the outer suburbs, great victim of brawls between gangs
Mama Sy, former elected (LR) of Etampes from 2014 to 2020, confirms: “Brawls have always existed, except that before, young people ran into each other by chance in the RER, recalls Mama Sy.
Today, with social networks, everything is premeditated.
They know why they are there, so they come armed ... sometimes calibrated.
"
"Before, we were more aware of the dangers, we did not come armed with knives, hammers ...", adds Malason.
Who has already, on several occasions, “intercepted at the last moment” of “teams of small” in the enemy district to avoid a tragedy.
"All it takes is a badly placed blow ..." warns Malason.
Intensification of excavations around high schools
To better seize these weapons, the prefecture intends to "intensify" the searches around schools and public transport.
"Whatever the device, it will only be effective if we increase the number of staff," estimates Guillaume Roux, of the Unité-SGP 91 police union. While we are monitoring the students, we do not do anything else, it requires of the world.
"
"What is worrying is that young people are not afraid of dying, they tell me:
It is the risk
", alarms Mama Sy.
The one who launched a psychological aid system in priority neighborhoods insists on their discomfort.
“Many of them are depressed but refuse to see him,” she continues.
I tell them:
Your lives are important
!
But sometimes, they don't like themselves, don't have plans… ”
For the chosen one, minors are built at home, at school and in the street.
“However, in these neighborhoods, there are 50 to 60% of single-parent families, with absent fathers and mothers who work very early or very late,” she continues.
At school, it's complicated, the teachers are overwhelmed.
The kids are therefore left to their own devices and educate themselves outside.
"
Better train specialized educators
Based on this observation, Mama Sy wishes to accentuate the deployment of better trained educators.
“Let's stop asking animators to be specialized educators,” she explains.
The policy of the big brothers is also pointless.
They are there to maintain order, but will not act on the substance.
"
Malason, he organizes inter-neighborhood football tournaments.
“We bring back the 12-15 year olds from Evry, Corbeil, Grigny, and things are going very well!
They must be sensitized from an early age, ”insists the educator.
The prefecture of Essonne also wishes to take as an example the inter-district events between Grigny 2 and Grande Borne, which have eased tensions in Grigny.
READ ALSO>
In Saint-Chéron, a trying back to school after the death of Lilibelle, killed in a brawl
For its part, the Evry-Courcouronnes prosecutor's office will be responsible for better monitoring minors involved in brawls via “local individualized monitoring cells” (CLSI).
Seven of them already exist in Dourdan, Orsay, Evry-Courcouronnes, Corbeil-Essonnes, Longjumeau, Grigny and in Les Ulis.
According to a legal source, one is being activated in Massy, and two others will be created in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge and Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, where brawls have increased in 2020. On the other hand, none exists in the Val d'Yerres Val de Seine… a sector that is nevertheless very concerned by this theme.
