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full screen Cars burn after a march for the shot 17-year-old, on June 29, 2023 in Nanterre, outside Paris. Photo: Michel Euler/AP/TT
Rising crime and insecurity are causing French voters to look to the right.
Ahead of this weekend’s second round of elections, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has a tailwind.
– Young people do not want chaos in France, says candidate Tom Maiani.
Last summer, France was rocked by widespread riots after a 17-year-old boy, Nahel, was shot dead by a police officer at a traffic control. For several weeks there were large demonstrations in several parts of the country.
Cars were set on fire and violent confrontations between protesters and police took place.
In the town of Mont-Saint-Martin in northeastern France, nine buildings were set on fire. Among other things, a preschool and a center for children with autism were destroyed.
24-year-old Tom Maiani, a resident of the city, sat behind the wheel of his car every night for three weeks. He was afraid someone would light it on fire.
– The riots marked me and strengthened my political choices. Young people do not want chaos in France, says Maiani.
He decided to run for the far-right National Gathering (RN).
Crimes increased in 2023
In France, crime increased in 2023, according to figures from the police. One reason that is pointed out is that the drug trade has spread to small French towns.
The unrest, along with a series of deadly knife fights between teenagers in usually quiet towns and villages, has made crime and insecurity burning issues in the general election.
It has benefited the National Assembly, led by Marine Le Pen.
In the village of Crépol south of Lyon, the party doubled its results in the EU elections in June. The reason is believed to be an act of violence at the end of last year, when a 16-year-old was stabbed to death and several others were injured when they were attacked outside a party venue by a youth gang from a densely populated residential area.
“Marked for life”
Pierre Didier, who lives in Crépol, says that his grandson was “marked for life” by the incident.
– Before my grandson was open-minded and tolerant, now he is completely for the extreme right. When he reaches voting age, he will choose RN, he told AFP.
RN top Jordan Bardella, who has his sights set on the premiership, has accused the teenagers from the designated housing estate of coming there “to stab whites”.
Bardella has promised to make it easier to deport immigrants convicted of crimes. He also wants to lower the subsidies for parents whose children repeatedly commit crimes.
The left-wing alliance New People’s Front (NFP) instead wants to invest in trying to calm the tensions between the police and young people with an immigrant background. Among other things, by investing in the municipal police.
– It is too late. On my street, everyone votes for the National Assembly, says Crépol resident Jacques Bonoris.