Gabriel Attal made the announcement during his general policy declaration on Tuesday. For the moment, only minors aged over 16 can receive community service.
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It is, according to him, a “clear principle“. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Tuesday January 30 the establishment of “educational work” for juvenile delinquents under 16 years of age, a measure close to general interest sentences, but which raises questions, particularly legal.
“I will not resign myself to preferring to wait before giving a heavy sentence, when very often, it is very early that we should have acted“, said the head of government during his general policy statement to the deputies. And for the Prime Minister, it is essential to act very early: “From a very young age, we must return to a clear principle: you break, you repair, you dirty, you clean, you challenge authority, you are taught to respect it.”
From 13 years old instead of 16
With this measure, it will therefore no longer be necessary to wait until a minor is 16 years old to impose a community service sentence. From the age of 13, work of educational interest can now be decided on. It is the children’s court which pronounces this type of sentence, but we do not know precisely what type of work. Currently, TIGs can, for example, be restoration work in the event of vandalism, such as cleaning tags, or even going to an association or community for a limited number of hours.
Wednesday January 31, Eric Dupond-Moretti provided some details on franceinfo: “Community service is work. However, international conventions prohibit us from using children to work. So what was to be done? Either nothing or take charge of the situation and ensure that minors are taken into care before the age of criminal responsibility“, explained the Minister of Justice, estimating that”We must help overwhelmed parents“.
The measure, which should concern minors between 13 and 16 years old and will fall within the judicial framework, will go through the police in particular, according to the Minister of Justice: “How do we deal with the situation of a kid wandering the streets at 2 a.m. today? He is thirteen. If her mother is overwhelmed, I will say it again, we must help her, this woman.”
“We are 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 of the neighborhood? Do you want us to send him back to school?”
Eric Dupond-Morettiat franceinfo
“It’s the State that will come and help the single mother to tell her that we’re taking care of the kid, we’re getting him back on track at school, we’re giving him a little republican values, we’re involving the soldiers, gendarmes, police officers, educators…“, specified Eric Dupond-Moretti.
In 2022, just over 2,000 community service sentences were imposed on minors over 16 years old. Since the week of riots which followed the death of Nahel on June 27, killed at the age of 17 by a police officer after refusing to comply, the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti has repeated that we must be able to punish young people perpetrators of damage, just like defaulting parents. Last October, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne notably indicated that she wanted to correct the “resignation“of certain parents in front of the”derivative“of their children by instituting community service sentences for those”who evade their educational duties“.
The head of government then also indicated her desire to be more severe with young delinquents, in particular by having them supervised by the military. In total, 1,180 minors had been identified by the courts as perpetrators of offenses during the riots, the Chancellery indicated. Among them, 40% were aged 13 to 15, the overwhelming majority of them boys (96%).