A teenager died in an attack in Romans-sur-Isère on the night of April 9, 2024. After a series of news stories involving young people, the mayor of the city directly denounced the government’s inaction.
Six months after Thomas’ death in Crépol, the town of Romans-sur-Isère, in Drôme, was once again the scene of a violent news incident. A 15-year-old teenager died after being attacked with a knife on the night of Tuesday April 9 in the La Monnaie district. An investigation was opened for intentional homicide and according to the first elements reported by franceinfo, a “futile motive” and a different one dating from the day before could be at the origin of the tragedy. The young man’s death comes after a series of violence involving young people: the death of Shemseddine in Viry-Châtillon and the attack on Samara in Montpellier.
The various right-wing mayor of Romans-sur-Isère did not remain silent in the face of this new affair. Marie-Hélène Thoraval “absolutely did not [été] surprised by what happened last night”, said the municipality the day after the tragedy denouncing “an increase in violence” visible “for many months” as reported France 3. The councilor who had already pointed out a form of “wildness” after the tragedy of Crépol indicated to the Dauphiné Libéré to note “a frightening trivialization of violence and the repetition of facts which are not news items but reflect a worrying trend in violence in our society”. “The observation that I made after the Crépol drama on the savagery of a certain youth unfortunately remains current,” she added in a speech with a more political tone.
Silence of “those who are supposed to govern us”
Addressing the authorities and especially the government, the mayor regretted the lack of progress and new adapted measures: “Beyond the beautiful declarations, I want to say forcefully that nothing is moving forward and that the elected officials, at closer to the reality on the ground, remain so little listened to by those who are supposed to govern us. Yet there is an emergency.” Because, for the elected official, the situation could get even worse “if we continue to consider these events as news items”.
“We need answers that correspond to this level of delinquency,” the councilor had already estimated on BFMTV in November after the murder of Thomas and the ultra-right demonstrations that were organized in its aftermath. If she recalled that measures had been put in place and investments made in the La Monnaie district, she considered them insufficient: “It is clear that compared to the situation of these districts, and which is true in an extremely large number of cities at the national level, (…) we arrive at a level of delinquency which calls for other forms of response”. And the situation has, according to her, changed little in this “sensitive district” of Romans-sur-Isère: “Since the Crépol drama, the situation, in view of the arrests made, was a little more peaceful. But there was always a certain form of tension. A dull tension”.
If Marie-Hélène Thoraval delivered her analysis and sounded the alarm on the rise in violence, she refused to comment on the case or the investigation, leaving it to the public prosecutor of Valencia to communicate. The mayor, who had been more vocal after the death of Thomas in Crépol, had been targeted and received several death threats. The councilor, however, sent his thoughts and support to the family of the young man who died on April 9.