Aulnay-sous-Bois Riots: Uncovering the Socio-Economic Challenges and Solutions

2023-07-10 03:59:56

As in other Parisian suburbs, riots quickly broke out there after the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a policeman in Nanterre, about thirty kilometers away.

I have never seen that, and yet I have lived here for 27 years, explains Bineta Marenga, a resident of the district, to talk about the intensity of the violence in this city which had nevertheless been the scene of major riots in 2005.

On social networks, videos showing a truck being stolen and then burned in Aulnay-sous-Bois have circulated widely.

Social networks are accelerating regroupings, notes Awa N’Diaye, another resident of the neighborhood, who believes that in some cases these events have become more of a challenge for some participants.

“I don’t see the revolt in the fact of burning down our place of residence, of destroying what belongs to us. […] There, it sticks us an additional label. »

— A quote from Awa N’Diaye, a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois

With Bineta Marega and other women from the neighborhood, Awa N’Diaye therefore took part in a march aimed at denouncing the excesses and trying to reason with the rioters.

We understand, but this is not the way to express anger, launches Bineta Marenga, who heads the community association La Calebasse aulnaysienne.

If tensions have returned to the streets of Aulnay-sous-Bois, the conversation is far from over.

During our meeting, Bineta Marenga and other women start a discussion with Foulé, a young man from the neighborhood.

Debris is still visible in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a Parisian suburb that has been the scene of riots.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Raphaël Bouvier-Auclair

In addition to the difficult relations between the young people of the district and the police, the 24-year-old man puts forward the socio-economic state of his city to explain the origin of the anger of a part Population.

In Aulnay-sous-Bois, the unemployment rate is 18%, more than double the national rate in France. Nearly a third of the population also lives below the poverty line.

“They don’t care about us. Look at the state of the neighborhood. That’s why young people are frustrated. »

— A quote from Foulé, a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois

In these suburbs, the feeling of belonging to the nation is weak and the feeling of belonging to a world different from that of the global society is very important, especially since there is a very strong ethnic concentration in these cities. , notes sociologist Olivier Galland, who worked for a long time at the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS).

In 2005, after the riots which shook several suburbs of Paris, the expert went to Aulnay-sous-Bois to carry out his studies there. Nearly twenty years later, he notes that significant difficulties persist, in particular a phenomenon of segregation which is partly linked to social housing.

It is a failure of what is called the policy of the city, notes Olivier Galland, in reference to a strategy of the French State, which, according to the government, aimed precisely at reducing the development gaps within cities. .

If the sociologist recognizes that over the last decades tens of billions of euros have been invested in these disadvantaged neighborhoods, he believes that these amounts have mainly been used to renovate infrastructures rather than to dwell on fundamental problems. .

Sociologist Olivier Galland became interested in Aulnay-sous-Bois after the 2005 riots.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Raphaël Bouvier-Auclair

Unfortunately, there have not been many improvements, particularly with regard to the role of the school, which remains an important structural factor, he explains, adding that the fight against crime is also crucial to allow a development economy to these territories.

Macron turns to families

Faced with the riots, Emmanuel Macron and members of his government called for the responsibility of the parents of the young rioters, some of whom were only teenagers. A third of those arrested in France during these events were minors.

“I appeal to the sense of responsibility of mothers and fathers of families. The Republic is not intended to survive them. »

— A quote from Emmanuel Macron, President of France, June 30, 2023

Christian, who grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, recalls that many suburban parents work at night.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Sergio Santos

Christian, a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois, explains that he himself asked his 18-year-old son to stay home in the evening during the riots. But this 50-year-old recognizes that providing this type of supervision is not possible for all parents in neighborhoods where many residents work at night.

Anyone who works hard at night has to leave their kids like that. Anyway, the job, you don’t have it here, in the neighborhood, you have it elsewhere. I agree that a parent’s priority is to educate the children, but you have to bring them food and pay for the house, explains the man whose job as a private transport driver also sometimes leads him to work the night.

I won’t hide from you that every parent in the neighborhood dreams of leaving the neighborhood, adds Christian. But this Congolese immigrant, who grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, chose to stay there and tries in his own way to help the young people of the city.

Passionate about music and dance, he teaches in the association Les Voies de la Nouvelle Rue, located in the heart of the district.

These young dancers believe that their art allows them to express their frustrations in other ways.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Raphaël Bouvier-Auclair

Kimberley, a teenager who participates in dance activities offered by the association, sees it as a solution to channel frustrations: It allows you to express yourself in a way other than by talking or breaking things.