41 brawls took place in Essonne. Faced with this phenomenon, which is not new, 175 local elected officials have called on the government to strengthen the financing of public services in the territory. One of the solutions found by the mayors to reduce these clashes is to bring children from different towns together, so that they get to know each other from an early age. Intermunicipal days are organized throughout the year between the towns of Épinay-sous-Sénart, Quincy-sous-Sénart, Boussy-Saint-Antoine and Varennes-Jarcy. Young people from 9 to 11 years old meet there around workshops and activities.
At the end of summer, the only noises that wake up the Pré aux Agneaux district of Épinay-sous-Sénart are those coming from the primary school. Recess has begun, it’s time to meet. The children then meet around manual workshops: making felt frames, drawing, origami and salt dough. Enzo is nine years old, he comes from Quincy-sous-Sénart: “ We take a little bit of flour and salt, we put three spoons in a bucket, then we put a spoonful of water, we mix, then we take with our hands, and it makes a ball. If I want to make a caterpillar, I make a caterpillar, if I want to make a snake, I make a snake…”
A facilitator from each city is there to supervise them. Delphine is part of the team: ” I am the director of the leisure schools of Épinay-sous-Sénart. The interco, it is we who welcome it today. »
” Interco » for intermunicipal company. The children are mainly there to get to know each other: We are creating something unique, allowing the children to create links from commune to commune. They are brought to meet at the college level, at the level of the sports associations, or if only by going for a walk in the city of the friend, to show them that there are nice things everywhere… »
Clashes between rival gangs
Because in Essonne, for two years, elected officials have been alerting the public authorities to clashes between rival gangs. One of the brawls that prompted the municipalities to organize these days occurred on February 23, 2021, in Boussy-Saint-Antoine. Children, like 11-year-old Noah, still remember: It was at the soccer field, next to the swimming pool. Two groups, d’Épinay-sous-Sénart and Quincy-sous-Sénart had made an appointment to compete. ” They fought and there was one death, stabbed in the throat, continues Noah. The police arrived, they put up tapes, there were helicopters… »
Toumani was 14 when he was stabbed. The event shocked these children, who do not understand that an old rivalry of more than three generations still makes victims, and who have already planned to see each other again soon.