The Beaugrenelle slab where Youriy, 15, was lynched by a dozen individuals -

Houpline Renard / SIPA

  • Yuriy, 15, was assaulted on leaving high school and left for dead on January 15. 

  • If no lead is ruled out, the hypothesis of a settling of scores between rival bands is favored.

  • About fifteen active gangs are currently identified in the capital. 

The video is incredibly violent: a dozen people, all dressed in black, attack Yuriy, a 15-year-old teenager, yet on the ground.

Kicks, punches, crutches and what is like a hammer to the head.

It was January 15, on the Beaugrenelle slab, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.

The teenager, who suffers from multiple fractures, including his skull, is still in critical condition.

Little by little the investigation became clearer.

And if no arrest has taken place at this stage, the investigators lean for a settling of scores between rival gangs, in this case between those of Beaugrenelle and Vanves, a neighboring town of Hauts-de-Seine.

A second video - undated - published this weekend fueled this hypothesis.

We see a young boy with a bloody face, victims of beatings and insults.

"Are you going to come back to the slab?"

“, Asks one of these attackers.

Is this the first act of this tragedy?

The hypothesis is in any case being explored by the investigators of the 3rd district of the judicial police, in charge of the investigations.

About fifteen active bands are currently listed in the capital, a figure that has been stable for several years.

"These are well-identified groups of at least three people who are in a logic of appropriation of the territory", specifies

20 Minutes

Laëtitia Vallar, the spokesperson for the Paris police headquarters.

Social networks as a catalyst for violence

In addition to these bands, other much less stable groups are added, which are formed and deformed in a timely manner, at the rate of quarrels.

According to our information, the two gangs involved in the brawl that led to the lynching of Yuriy are among them.

"We are faced with a spontaneous phenomenon where a group of young people from the same district will gather around a dispute for a few days or weeks," continues Yvan Assioma, Ile-de-France secretary of the Alliance union.

So far from the overused image of American gangs with leaders, pledges of allegiance or loyalty pact.

And if the geographical logic is essential - all generally come from the same district - the clashes are not necessarily linked to the control of a territory.

"More and more, social networks act as a catalyst for violence and disputes for futile reasons, a love affair or a bad look for example, can take very important proportions", specifies Laëtitia Vallar.

If we stick strictly to the figures, this crime has tended to decline in recent years.

In five years, the number of violent phenomena attributed to these rivalries - in particular brawls - has fallen by 47.7% in Paris, from 159 acts recorded in 2016 to 89 in 2019 and 83 in 2020, proof that it is not This is not a statistical bias linked to confinement.

But this quantitative decrease is not synonymous with a decrease in violence.

If firearms remain relatively rare during these clashes, bladed weapons and by destination - sticks, hammer, street furniture - have become the norm.

Average age: 17 years and 2 months

Over the past three years, a dozen young people, the vast majority underage, have died during these clashes.

The last one, almost a year ago to the day, was 14 years old.

He died stabbed.

This is one of the specificities of the phenomenon: the young age of the gang members.

Among the 187 people arrested in 2020 in connection with these rivalries, 126 were minors.

Average age, according to the prefecture: 17 years and 2 months, mainly boys.

Since 2010, five specialized police officers have been working full time on this issue within the police headquarters.

In ten years or so, they have observed a marked rejuvenation of the participants.

Until about 2015, most were young adults.

The phenomenon may well be well known, it remains difficult to prevent, especially because of its spontaneous appearance.

In Paris, a partnership has been established with the prosecutor's office, National Education and the City to take into account its different aspects.

"In certain places that we know likely to be the place of these fights, the police presence is reinforced, the urban development is adapted: the grids around the trees are sealed, the lighting is reinforced", details the door- word of the police headquarters while acknowledging that the mobility of these groups makes the task complicated.

Society

Paris: How do the police fight against violent gangs?

Society

What is the reality behind the gang "war" in France?

  • Violence

  • Rival bands

  • Brawl

  • Society

  • Paris