At 10 p.m., minors under the age of 13 in bed. At least, at home. The city of Viry-Châtillon (Essonne) will establish a curfew from Saturday until 6 a.m. on Saturday, the municipality said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This decree will not only protect these minors by not letting them wandered in the streets, but also to empower parents since the child will be systematically renewed at his home,” explains Jean-Marie Vilain in this document (centrists). The mayor specifies that it is also possible that children are temporarily taken to the police station.
No planned sanction
“If the parents are brought to come (y) to look for their children, maybe it will make them think a little,” he notes, stressing “that there is no planned sanction”. The councilor indicates “not having figures” concerning the criminal facts committed by minors under the age of 13 in the streets of his town.
But the latter had been “very marked”, he recalls, by the death in April 2024 of Shemseddine, spent tobacco at 15 years old near his college by three minors and a major, a drama which had aroused immense emotion. “I especially have concern for children, it is not a question of repression,” says Jean-Marie Vilain, recalling “the phenomena of brawls” which affect the department.
A measure implemented in summer
Essonne, a department of southern Île-de-France populated by 1.3 million inhabitants, is regularly the scene of clashes between bands of young adolescents from rival districts. A quarter of the brawls identified in France take place in this department, had noted several political leaders at a conference on the subject.
To “strengthen public tranquility”, the city of 31,000 inhabitants generalizes by this decree a measure which it had first implemented on the summer period since 2017. Outdoor lights, barbecues and the consumption of hookah in public space will also be prohibited from Saturday.
The press release also mentions new restrictions on the retail sale of alcoholic beverages in the town implemented since March 24.
