After Dark, Fear Rules: French Cities Lock Down Youth

A surge in drug-related violence has prompted several cities across France to impose night-time curfews on minors.

Nîmes, a city in the south of France, is the latest to introduce restrictions in response to escalating unrest, joining a growing list of municipalities grappling with similar issues.

Authorities in Nîmes have enforced a curfew that prohibits individuals under 16 from being outside between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Officials stated the move aims to shield young people from violence and reduce mounting tension.

In addition to the curfew, reinforcements from national police forces are being deployed to support local efforts.

The measures come after a series of violent incidents in recent weeks, including several shootings, one of which occurred in broad daylight.

These attacks have resulted in one death and left multiple individuals injured.

Just last week, the burned body of a 19-year-old man was discovered on the outskirts of Nîmes, further highlighting the severity of the situation.

Mayor Jean-Paul Fournier declared the current environment “untenable,” blaming drug traffickers for creating an atmosphere of fear. He stressed the urgency of intervention to restore order.

Deputy Mayor Richard Schieven echoed his concerns, emphasizing that the curfew is designed to protect uninvolved minors.

He said it is designed to also to help safeguard young adolescents, some as young as 12 or 13, who are being exploited by drug networks.

This approach is not unique to Nîmes.

In Béziers, located about 120 kilometers to the southwest, authorities have been enforcing similar curfews.

The city initially restricted children under 13 from being out between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. beginning last year and later extended this to those under 15 in certain neighborhoods.

Béziers Mayor Robert Ménard argued that unsupervised young children on the streets late at night are often engaging in risky or criminal behavior.

In his words, “No 10-year-old out on the street at 2:00 a.m. is up to anything but mischief.”

Despite these actions, violent outbreaks persist.

Over the weekend, reports from local media described groups of masked youths in Béziers who intentionally provoked law enforcement and then assaulted them with fireworks.

Similar chaos erupted in Limoges, where authorities have also instituted a summer curfew for children under 13.

After a violent episode involving around 100 individuals, Mayor Émile Roger Lombertie admitted that the curfew had failed to yield meaningful results.

Lombertie cited a lack of arrests and inadequate enforcement capacity.

He concluded that merely imposing restrictions was insufficient without increased police presence to uphold them.

The issue of drug violence is not new to the region.

Two years ago, Nîmes was rocked by tragedy when a 10-year-old boy was fatally shot in the Pissevin district, sparking national outrage.

Once considered a problem largely confined to cities like Marseille, long regarded as the hub of France’s gang activity, drug-related violence is now increasingly surfacing in other urban centers.

Recent statistics from the French interior ministry underscore the scale of the crisis.

It reveals that in 2024 alone, drug-related violence claimed the lives of 110 people and left over 300 wounded.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Justice Minister Bruno Retailleau have taken a firm stance against the drug trade.

Earlier this year, the government passed new legislation aimed at intensifying the crackdown.

The new law includes the construction of two high-security prisons for drug lords, the creation of a specialized prosecutorial division, expanded investigative powers, and protections for informants.

In a recent statement, Minister Darmanin announced that the first group of 17 high-risk drug traffickers, considered among the most dangerous in France, had been relocated to a maximum-security facility in Vendin-le-Vieil, in the north of the country.

However, the government’s aggressive campaign has not gone unchallenged.

A series of arson and gun attacks targeting French prisons earlier this spring is believed to be retaliation by criminal networks hit by the state’s new offensive.

As tensions remain high, French authorities continue to grapple with balancing law enforcement, youth protection, and the broader challenge of dismantling the nation’s entrenched drug trafficking operations.

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