Au foot of the 17 -story tower, the children play ball. Two young people sit on a bench, joined a few minutes later by other young people from the city. The more athletic engages in a few pull -ups. It is here, around the Chante-Grillon park, in the Chantecrite-Saint-Louis district, in Bordeaux, meeting point for all young people and inhabitants of the neighborhood, that several shootings and attacks broke out between 2019 and 2021, against a background of rivalry with other young people from the Aubiers district. A rivalry which led, on January 2, 2021, on the death of Lionel, a 16 -year -old teenager, shot by the daws.
As the trial of eight young people (Monday, May 12) approached, most of whom grew up in Chantecris and Saint-Louis, the atmosphere is less heavy in the neighborhood, four years after the facts. A deserted time for fear of reprisals, the Chante-Grillon place is again frequented by the inhabitants. “It has calmed down,” assure teens, who would not take the risk of showing themselves in the city of sapwoods. Conversely, young people of the sawreations could not come serenely to Chantecrite, for fear of reprisals.
Stop rivalries
Because the rivalries are always present, supplied in particular on social networks. The fear of new assaults has not dissipated. Lionel’s death has created a fracture that will take years to heal. “The districts are injured and bruised by these dramas. All generations have been intimately affected. The trial arouses both a great expectation but also fears. It is time for it to happen, ”says Hélène (amended first name), a former educator in these neighborhoods.
“Everyone got out of it as he could. But, despite these disturbing phenomena of violence, little has changed since the death of Lionel, “she said, denouncing the lack of means to accompany young people, with exhausted educators, and” the detracting of the associative fabric “. Some associations have been forced to give up in recent years.
N. L.
“Four years after the facts, we no longer even know how the rivalries started. In this context where some are in great suffering, loss of landmarks, abandoned and without any notion of limits, it is enough for a rap battle, a fight in college or a story of heart so that everything gets away, “she tells.
Prudent educators
In the Chante Script – Saint -Louis district, as in the Aubiers, the few existing associations and structures are fighting with their means to offer young people activities, prospects and open other doors than those of the street. Ubaps, the Bordeaux Nord social center, the GIP Mediation, the APIS, the US Chartrons or the Ufolep, each in its role and embodied by respected and trustworthy personalities in these neighborhoods, tries to appease the rivalries.
“The trial arouses both a great expectation but also fears. It is time that it happens ”
-
Most regret the few means and do not damp tensions – some educators affiliated with a district that can not even go to a rival district – but display a desire to “work all together in order to advance serenely”, to get out of this spiral of violence, while arrests have taken place recently. Some contacted educators prefer to remain silent, “for fear of rekindling tensions” or that their words are “misinterpreted by young people”, at the risk of “undermining years of work on the ground”, especially in this context of the Mortal Fire of the Aubiers which will open.
The pillars of the city
Others speak more freely, entering the word given to the district to try to develop the situation. Mohammed Rezioui, known as “Moudy”, sports educator at the Ufolep Bordeaux Maritime Métropole, has been present since 1997 in Chantecrite. During the holidays, he organized tours in the City-Stades, from Chante Script to Aubiers, via Bacalan, to offer free sports activities (Ultimate, Korfbal, Flag Rugby, Football …) to young people. “If they cannot go to other districts, because too dangerous for them, you have to start by talking to yourself between educators. To repair the fracture, young people must see that we are working together, that Saint-Louis associations can help young people in the hugs and vice versa. We must develop mentalities, ”he offers.
N. L.
This Monday, April 28, at the City-Stade de Chantecript, about fifteen children came around to participate in the activities. “Here, there are also lots of young people who want to do lots of things!” But it’s just a small handle that no longer respects anything and puts the bazaar, ”explains Moudy.
“You have to ignore tensions by pulling everyone up. The interquartier dynamic is possible ”
Others want to believe at the end of the rivalries, in particular by focusing on future generations. Achraf Essayeh, mediator of the Rock School Barbey, has been working for years to bring together in these neighborhoods by music. “You have to ignore tensions by pulling everyone up. The interquartier dynamic is possible. She has already existed and I think she will come back. This is only a matter of time, “he positive, quoting the old rap collective outside the music limit or the Young K’fry group, which brought together young people from Chantecris, daws and grand-parc.
Through culture or sport, these strong personalities known in the districts have grinded the wounds of social fractures. A new place, carried by the various youth assistance structures, has also opened its doors to Chantecript. The apartment, at 74, rue Joséphine, welcomes all the young people in the district from 14 to 25 years old, supervised by educators.
But associations cannot alone bear the burden of drift, delinquency or social violence. “It is not the lack of associations or activities that causes some young people to malfunction. What poses a problem is the lack of resources in working -class neighborhoods and the lack of work, with parents who therefore have trouble raising their children, ”points out Fabrice Escorne, director of the Bordeaux Nord social center, who worked in the Aubiers before coming to Chantecrite. The two districts finally have more reasons to help each other than to hate each other.
