“We must help overwhelmed parents”, believes Eric Dupond-Moretti

One of the solutions to help these parents is to “involve the military, the gendarmes, the police, educators”, estimates the Minister of Justice, guest of “8h30 franceinfo”, Wednesday.

“We must help overwhelmed parents“, estimates Wednesday January 31 on franceinfo, Eric Dupond-Moretti, Minister of Justice while the Prime Minister announced that he wanted to create “work of educational interest” for delinquents under 16 years old. “You break, you repair. You dirty, you clean. You challenge authority, you learn to respect it”declared Gabriel Attal in particular on Tuesday during his general policy speech.

The head of government advocates the placement of young people in boarding schools “who do not respect our rules and who are violent”. He also wants to create “work of educational interest” for delinquents aged 13 to 16, a measure close to community service (TIG) which will also fall under the judicial framework. “Community work is work. However, international conventions prohibit us from making children work. So what should we do? Either nothing, or take charge of the situation and ensure that minors are taken into care before the age of criminal responsibility”, explains Eric Dupond-Moretti.

The children’s court will be able to order this “work of educational interest”, but without us knowing precisely, for the moment, what type of work it is. Currently, TIGs can, for example, carry out restoration work in the event of vandalism, such as cleaning tags, or even go to an association or community for a limited number of hours. “What is the civic work that will be put in place? It is a reminder of the values ​​of the Republic, it is a reminder of secularism, of authority,” argues the Minister of Justice.

“We all know that there is a lack of authority today in our times.”

Eric Dupond-Moretti, Keeper of the Seals

on franceinfo

More generally, Eric Dupond-Moretti calls for “put things back in order”. In the first place, “those who educate children are the parents.” According to him, the State is not intended to replace parental authority but it will “helping overwhelmed parents”. The Minister of Justice particularly thinks “to single moms” because “60% of kids” who participated in the riots sparked after the death of a young Nahel last June “are raised by a single woman”, he recalls. Eric Dupond-Moretti qualifies his comments made at the time of this urban violence, calling “to make parents responsible”, because if some are “defaulters”, others are “outdated”.

“Helping the single mother”

The Minister of Justice believes that he “is not very complicated” to differentiate them. “There is casualness on one side and even complicity on the other”he declares, denouncing “parents who profit from their child’s trafficking”. On the other hand, the overwhelmed parent “wants to get his kid out of the rut he is in, wants his kid not to wander the streets, wants his kid not to become delinquent”.

Eric Dupond-Moretti “think of the cleaning lady, who works nights, who cannot watch her child”. He assures that the State can “helping the single mother”, but “not by eliminating family allowances, not by stigmatizing the behavior of an overwhelmed mother”. One of the solutions, according to him, to help these parents is to “intervene soldiers, gendarmes, police officers, PJJ educators”, the Judicial Protection of Youth. A measurement “pragmatic”, defends Eric Dupond-Moretti. “We’re going to ask the police to go see the mother and say to her: ‘Madame, do you want us to give you a hand? Do you want us to take your child out? from the neighborhood? Do you want us to send him back to school?'”