“It’s an absolute tragedy,” says the mayor.

The 15-year-old boy died after being beaten up as he left his school in early April. Jean-Marie Vilain, the mayor of the town, still cannot rationally explain what happened in mid-August.

“It’s unspeakable, it’s very hard, I’m moved“, reacts, in tears, Jean-Marie Vilain, the mayor, the Centrists, of Viry-Châtillon, on April 5, 2024, the day after the death of Shemseddine, a teenager beaten up as he left his college. “But it doesn’t matter to me. For me, in some time surely, I will have other things that will make me think about it less, his mother, she will think about it all her life.“, continues the mayor of the Essonne commune in front of the press, alongside the Minister of Education Nicole Belloubet and other elected officials.

The shock and emotion after Shemseddine’s death were national. There is also incomprehension, the one his friends called “Shems”, was beaten to death for having talked about sexuality with the sister of one of the accused. They are four young men, three minors and one adult, indicted for murder. More than four months after the death of the schoolboy, Jean-Marie Vilain still says he cannot rationally explain what happened. The mayor of Viry-Châtillon accompanied the family to the schoolboy’s funeral, suggested and then organized a silent march that brought together 200 people.

Shemseddine’s family, his mother and his sister do not wish to speak to the media, still in contact with the young man’s mother, Jean-Marie Vilain gives news of her.Shemseddine’s mother moved to a neighboring town, not far away, where her children are now in school. And the families of the attackers are also in demand. Moreover, the children are no longer in school in Viry and have also been transferred to establishments in neighboring towns, he reports. These are also families who are in misfortune. Certainly not as much as Shemseddine’s mother who, herself, experienced the absolute tragedy of losing a child“.

Even though he is keen to point out that this tragedy did not affect him directly, Jean-Marie Vilain remains affected.There is now a concern as soon as we know that there are gatherings taking place in the city, especially of young people. We immediately send the municipal police. I move around quite easily.” he says. “The only thing I wish for the last two years of my term is that something like this never happens again.“, he insists.”It still affects me and there is a good chance that I will continue to see a shrink for a while.he confides. But once again, you have to put it into perspective because it remains a detail of my life unfortunately, compared to the family, it is not comparable. So I will live with it and it will pass one day.“.

Jean-Marie Vilain then returns to the interview he gave, in tears, as he left college.There are too many who said that these were crocodile tears.he reports. JI assure you that we do not control something like that.“The emotion, he recalls, was also strong for the teachers.”You don’t hide that.he explains. “It’s an absolute tragedy what happened to this young man and his family.”.

When asked what measures could be implemented immediately to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, he explained that he did not have “no miracle solution“. He emphasizes that preventive actions are being carried out, in particular with the Émergence association. According to him, “We must continue to be attentive on a daily basis, on the ground, to the way in which young people react“. “I don’t have miracle solutions.he insists. But I think that everything starts with the parents, and possibly with the support of the parents, to teach them again how to be parents for some”Parents who must be supported, but also take their responsibilities, believes Jean-Marie Vilain.