Two months before the European elections, the French extreme right is trying to exploit the recent episodes of brutality among teenagers in its favor, blaming President Emmanuel Macron and his Government for carrying out a policy of laxity and lack of authority, for years, which has these dramas possible.
The death of a 15-year-old boy after being beaten last Thursday after leaving school in Viry-Châtillon, south of Paris, and the attack on a 14-year-old girl in Montpellier, have given rise to the Marine Le Pen’s party, the National Rally (RN), reinforces its criticism of the head of state and his Government, and presents itself as the party that can restore a minimum of security and order in the country.
After learning of the death of young Shamseddine, severely beaten on the head, Le Pen tweeted that “deadly madness has no limits” and asked: “When will the Government take action against this wild drift that is corroding society?” Yesterday, in a discussion on the BFMTV station, the RN spokesperson, deputy Philippe Ballard, drew a catastrophic panorama when he stated that “it is a State that has been sinking for years.” The parliamentarian proposed harsher penalties and lowering the criminal age.
The RN clearly leads the European polls, in which security and immigration issues benefit it. Also the traditional right, Los Republicanos (LR), does not hesitate to exploit the situation. The ideological porosity with the extreme right has been evident for a long time, to the point of using the same language. The president of LR, Eric Ciotti, wondered about “how many victims are needed to truly react” to “the explosion of violence.”
After the arrest of five people – four of them minors – related to the beating of Shamseddine, and the lengthy interrogations, a solid hypothesis regarding the motive for the attack has not yet been leaked. The version circulates that it could be, originally, a love dispute, but there is no official confirmation. According to other students, the victim was a student with no problems and who got along well with everyone. The hint of a settling of accounts between rival gangs is unlikely.
The mayor of Viry-Châtillon, the centrist Jean-Marie Vilain, was very affected by the events, he did not avoid sobbing before the cameras and said he hoped for “a punishment worthy of this act.” Meanwhile, the prefect of the department of Essone has decreed reinforced police surveillance, despite the school holidays having begun. Psychological support for Shamseddine colleagues will continue during the two non-school weeks.
Regarding Tuesday’s attack on 14-year-old Samara in Montpellier, which left the girl badly injured, it is not clear what the motive was or how important an alleged reproach to the victim was for not dressing or acting like a true Muslim. . Three minors have been formally charged with “attempted voluntary manslaughter.”
There is no doubt, however, that social networks can aggravate the phenomenon of bullying. Before the Internet era, these behaviors usually stopped when students left the educational center or its surroundings. Now harassment can continue permanently, twenty-four hours a day, with messages, photos and insults circulating among students and further poisoning the atmosphere and can lead to tragedies.
