Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
French gang law seen failing to curb youth unrest
Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:08pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Estelle Shirbon
AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France (Reuters) - A French plan to outlaw gangs in response to a spate of youth violence has dismayed people in poor suburbs who say it shows the government has no idea what really goes on there and no solution.
Official anti-gang rhetoric has flourished since a raid on a school in the Paris suburb of Gagny on March 10 during which teenagers from a rival school attacked pupils and teachers with metal bars and hammers, injuring 12.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, battling public discontent over the economic crisis and keen to show a tough-on-crime approach that made him popular in the past, rushed to the school and promised a new law making it a crime to belong to a gang.
To many in the suburbs, which are ghettos for ethnic minorities, this had the familiar ring of demonization.
"They're always portraying us as barbarians," said Abou, 30, a resident of the "3,000," a high-rise estate with a fearsome reputation in the suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois, north of Paris.
Hot on Sarkozy's heels, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said police had identified 220 gangs in France, mostly based in the Paris suburbs, with 2,500 permanent members. Most are involved in trafficking drugs, she said.
Like Sarkozy and Alliot-Marie, French media have been quick to bring up the "gang problem" in their coverage of a series of other incidents involving youths from the tough suburbs.
But residents there warn against confusing organized gangs committing serious crimes with rebellious bands of boys.
"You have big groups of boys who all grow up together on the same estate. The schools are bad, many of the boys drop out. There's nothing for them to do, no jobs, so they're bored. They hang out, they get into fights," said Abou at the 3,000 estate.
TURF WARS
Looking around, it is not hard to get the picture.
A long bus ride from Aulnay-sous-Bois' prim, leafy town center, the 3,000 is a grim expanse of overcrowded concrete tower blocks covered in damp stains, empty streets and shuttered shops.
Abou, who did not wish to give his family name because he has a criminal record, said he used to be involved in turf wars between the 3,000 and a neighboring estate. No one knew how it had started, but youths would fight to defend their "territory."
The rivalry has faded now after years of mediation efforts, although a new one has flared elsewhere in Aulnay-sous-Bois between two other estates where boys often clash.
While such violence was scary for residents and damaging for the boys, community organizers said it was wrong to refer to "gangs" because it tarred informal groups of disaffected youths with the same brush as organized networks of drug traffickers. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Iraq parliament gets new speaker
Also on Reuters
Can Citigroup's results be sustained?
IMF to cut global forecast and sees 2010 recovery
Blog: Does China have what it takes to save the world?
More International News
NATO forces foil attack on Norwegian tanker
Growing Western boycott threatens U.N. racism forum
Karzai objects to direct U.S. talks with Taliban
UAE arrests suspect in Lebanon's Hariri murder: report
Nigeria militants free British hostage
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Citi trade profitable but now tough to execute
NATO forces foil attack on Norwegian tanker
Iran president wants to ensure U.S.-Iranian reporter's rights
U.S. will boycott U.N. conference on racism
Obama sees signs of better Cuba, Venezuela ties | Video
Burger King to scrap ad after complaint
Playboy names University of Miami top U.S. party school
Delta stops using India call centers: report
U.S. drone hits militant camp in Pakistan | Video
Geithner sees no new banking crisis: report
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama reaches out to Cuba
Susan Boyle: Unlikely pop star
Zimbabwe Independence Day
Obama and Chavez shake hands
Iran shows off its military might
Thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations?
Red Cross hostage rescued
UK Tamils protest against Sri Lanka
Recession hits German prostitutes
West Bank protests turn deadly
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
World Affairs:
Arabia's knowledge gap
Bernd Debusmann
Education is a tempting target for budget cutters in times of financial distress, but in the Arab world an education drive without parallel is taking place. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.