The worrying "recourse to violence which is becoming commonplace" in Bordeaux

Frédérique Porterie, public prosecutor in Bordeaux -

• There have been around forty stabbing attacks in Bordeaux since May.

• This increase in attacks is due to various phenomena, particularly in the context of turf wars in certain neighborhoods, or violent thefts in the inner city of Bordeaux.

• The confinement also generated "exacerbated behavior, with an increase in aggressiveness", notes the prosecutor.

Knife, cutter, machete, saber, even ax….

The increase in delinquency in Bordeaux recorded for a little over a year, has accelerated since the deconfinement with a surge in attacks with knives.

There are about forty of them in four and a half months.

"Between May 9 and July 19, 25 cases with arrests were opened" specifies for its part the prosecutor of the Republic of Bordeaux, Frédérique Porterie, who received

Wednesday to take stock of the situation.

Considered calm a little over a year ago, Bordeaux has been in the headlines for a few months because of the numerous attacks with knives that occur at night or in the early morning.

What explains this shift?

There are several phenomena.

As in all cities, we have violence with weapons, coming out of nightclubs or bars.

This is the case of the most recent [in the night from Friday to Saturday], which occurred in a bar over the Yser, and which ended with a blow to the throat with a broken glass on one of the individuals. .

There is also a crime which rises in districts registered in a turf war, in Chantecrit, in Aubiers and on the right bank, with the police who are getting stoned.

Then, there is a delinquency which has worsened in the center of Bordeaux, linked in particular to the presence of unaccompanied minors, “unaccompanied minors” [young foreigners on French territory, isolated and undocumented].

The common denominator of all these phenomena is the trivialization of the use of weapons.

And in Bordeaux it is more visible than elsewhere because it was less before.

What do we know about these “unaccompanied minors”?

Already, not all unaccompanied minors are delinquents, it is important to remember that.

These are young foreigners, often from Maghreb countries or sub-Saharan Africa - but sometimes from other countries - who come to Europe by paying smugglers, via Spain, which is the country most affected by the phenomenon.

France was moreover for a long time only a land of passage to go further north, towards Great Britain in particular, but the Covid crisis stopped them.

Do these minors arrive as part of an organized crime network?

Not especially.

There is no criminal organization that brings them to France.

On the other hand, once there, some fall into delinquency to feed themselves or to provide themselves with narcotics;

they can then be recovered by a network, with someone who will use them to make them commit thefts, in exchange for drugs and drugs.

And these thefts are becoming more and more violent.

There is a recourse to violence which becomes very commonplace, and it seems quite natural today to carry a weapon, whether it is unaccompanied minors or more "classic" delinquents.

And the phenomenon was accentuated on leaving confinement.

Why ?

I am neither a psychiatrist nor a sociologist, my role is to look at the facts, and to see if it falls under criminal justice or not.

But confinement has generated behaviors that range from incivility - with in particular neighborhood conflicts, verbal aggression, insults to law enforcement officials - to exactions between delinquents or on other people.

The confinement has had a psychological impact, and we are seeing exacerbated behavior, which is reflected in the unaccompanied population by a rise in aggression.

Why do we suddenly find more unaccompanied minors in Bordeaux, and how many are there?

They may have been chased away from other cities, which would be the case with Toulouse or Marseille, by local delinquents who did not want to see this population arrive, considered as a kind of competition.

There were around forty people at the start, it would be more like a hundred today.

But who are we talking about exactly, when we know that in reality most say they are minors but are adults?

What legal response do you provide?

Faced with this organized delinquency, I took instructions to make systematic referrals on the carrying of a weapon and violence with a weapon.

If in the city center of Bordeaux someone has a weapon, he is referred to the prosecution, and the response can go as far as an immediate appearance or the opening of judicial information.

I also increased the number of requisitions for identity checks.

But in the treatment of minors, we privilege the educational to the repressive, and whenever possible, the minor is taken in charge of educational assistance.

This does not prevent there will also be a criminal response, even in the event of a minor offense.

Criminal response that some consider too rare ...

Today, most public prosecutors are between 80% and 98% of penal answer on the facts identified with a known author.

In Bordeaux we are at 90%.

But concerning unaccompanied minors, when they are questioned after a criminal offense, the fact that they do not give their identity, that they have no paper, that they do not speak, makes matters very complicated.

As for the educational follow-up, it is not easy either, knowing that many of these young people generally seek to escape the structures, no?

Some people say that these are poor children who are not taken care of and who are left in the hands of networks.

It's not that.

They are educated, they are placed in hostels, but within an hour they leave to join their friends who live in squats.

At the same time, actions in the field are or will be carried out.

Where is the creation of the local delinquency treatment group (GLTD) for the Saint-Michel district?

A GLTD is intended to be set up to carry out targeted actions, in collaboration with various services.

It's like putting the spotlight on a place where things are happening a bit in the dark.

I am bringing this group together next Tuesday, but there have already been actions taken in this area.

The situation on Saint-Michel has been deteriorating for a little over a year.

There is an occupation of the territory in this district, which goes as far as the Capuchins via the platforms and the train station, by delinquents due to drug trafficking.

They also recover some unaccompanied minors.

How long do you expect results in this neighborhood?

The GLTD will be enacted for a minimum of three months, but it is not intended to stay for a year either.

Things should move fast enough, we will do everything to.

Will it be possible to put an end to these recurring attacks with knives?

I would be presumptuous to say that I will solve the problem, but we have the means to try to solve it.

I cannot bring myself to consider that the situation is lost, if we are faced with about fifty people who pose a problem, which seems to be the case.

We must be able to take care of it, anyway.

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