“98 clashes since the start of the year”, as revealed by figures from the Paris police headquarters

With 98 incidents recorded in 2024 compared to 93 in 2023, clashes are increasing slightly. After the death of a 16-year-old teenager in the 13th arrondissement of the capital, the Paris police prefect takes stock of these brawls between gangs in the Paris metropolitan area.

“For 2024, the phenomenon of gangs is slightly increasing, since with yesterday’s clash (Tuesday), throughout the Paris metropolitan area, we are at 98 clashes between gangs”against “93 last year”.

“In Paris alone, we have had 25 clashes between gangs since the start of the year.”added the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez.

“Environ 20 %” clashes in the Paris metropolitan area (Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne), “i.e. 1 in 5, affect a school. These are most often high school students or individuals who have not dropped out of school”he said.

The police prefect argued on RMC that the death of the teenager on Tuesday in front of a school was the result of the clash of gangs “from two districts, Amiral Mouchez against Glacière”, in the capital.

The prefect stressed that the average age of gang members this year was “16 years and 10 months”against “17 years and 10 months” last year. The police headquarters services follow “around 45 bands throughout the Paris metropolitan area”, including “37 in Paris”.

According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, these gangs are located particularly in 17^ththe 13th^ththe 15th^ththe 19th^th and the 20^th arrondissement.

Also read: A teenager killed during a brawl in front of the Rodin high school in Paris, one person arrested

Laurent Nuñez further indicated that since the beginning of the year, the police services had managed to avoid “81 clashes”. “Around a thousand people are arrested each year,” he said. Since the beginning of the year, “370 young people were referred” before the courts in the context of these clashes between gangs.

The people arrested are “often armed” specifies for its part the Paris prosecutor’s office. In 2024 as in 2023, half of them were in possession of a bladed weapon.

For the police chief, “What is important in preventing clashes between gangs is really detection. But we cannot prevent everything.” According to the prosecution, “Anticipating actions is all the more difficult as they are often prepared at the last minute, on the networks, and young people travel, sometimes to confront each other far from their place of schooling or anchorage. .”

The City of Paris and the elected officials of the districts concerned or their representatives, the national and municipal police services, the regional prefecture, National Education, the direction of judicial protection of young people and the Public Prosecutor’s Office are organizing a “active sleep” Who “can allow the deployment of police forces and obtain the dispersal of groups before taking action.“.