Illustration of a burglary -

SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS / SIPA

  • The people of Nantes are trying to organize themselves in order to respond by themselves to the feeling of insecurity they feel.

  • Self-defense courses, neighborhood groups, equipment ... initiatives are emerging.

His assault goes back several months but Nadège remembers it as if it were yesterday.

“I arrived at my home, Mellinet district, and he tried to push me against the wall.

There I put my forearm in his throat, and I ran away.

I have always trained by telling myself that the risk of aggression exists.

That it would happen.

Like this 33-year-old martial arts enthusiast, and despite declining crime figures, a certain number of Nantes residents have been victims of theft or violence, or live with this fear.

So much so that the subject, which is one of the “priorities” of the mayor and is frequently invited into discussions and the media, pushes some to react in an attempt to deal with it.

Johann Mau, self-defense trainer, has seen a new audience arrive over the past four years: “They are often young people, to whom it has happened and who want to know how to react if it happens again, he says. .

Like this young woman who had her necklace torn off, for example.

She asked me for some private lessons.

I learn how to free myself from a strangulation but above all to develop vigilance, anticipate attacks.

The goal is not to turn them into warriors, but to work on confidence.

"

"Wanting to protect yourself"

For some, reassurance rhymes with being equipped.

When we broach the subject, it is not uncommon to hear about "a hair stick in the bag" or this technique which consists of "keeping a key in one hand, all in the pocket, when comes home alone in the evening ”.

Accessories diverted from their first use while another device is arousing enthusiasm: the alarm key ring, distributed by the association Sécurité nocturne Nantes, which has already sold several thousand copies.

“More and more people are interested in tear gas canisters but the legislation is very strict, observes Cyril, spokesperson for the association.

The key fob has the advantage of not being intrusive, of being discreet, and easy to use: just press to trigger a very very powerful alarm (140 DB).

The objective is to surprise the aggressor but also to warn passers-by and shopkeepers around you.

It will not prevent the worst, but it responds to a tendency to want to guard against violence.

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"Take action before things go wrong!"

"

This is also what pushed an entire district of Rezé to organize itself, while more and more groups of inhabitants are forming in the districts, on social networks or in a more informal way.

After chain burglaries affected around thirty of their homes, these residents of La Trocardière took action.

A WhatsApp group has been set up to report any suspicious movement.

“As soon as one of us posts a message, the neighbors immediately come out in front of their house,” says Vincent, one of them.

One evening at 12:30 a.m., ten of us were outside after two people were seen lurking around the cars.

We show that we are there, that we are protecting our neighborhood.

It is also a way of telling the authorities: act before things go wrong!

"

Because these initiatives, among others, also aim to point the finger at the action of the police or the municipalities, often considered insufficient.

In the latter case, pressure from residents made it possible to “establish a dialogue with the town hall of Rezé”, while a citizen debate on the municipal police must be launched.

In Bouguenais, Vertou or Les Sorinières, “referent citizens” systems have been implemented to strengthen the link between authorities and residents.

In Nantes, the town hall plans to launch a call for projects to the general public, while the recruitment of additional municipal agents is underway.

The new metropolitan transport police have also just started their patrols.

For his part, the public prosecutor, Pierre Sennès, promised a "strengthening of local justice", to respond to "the concerns of citizens in their quality of daily life.

"

Nantes

Nantes: Delinquency slowed down by confinement but "problems are still there"

Miscellaneous

Nantes: Equipped with knives and a fake pistol, two schoolboys attack a passerby

  • Aggression

  • Burglary

  • security

  • Nantes