SEVERAL FRENCH CITIES have introduced a curfew for teenagers this summer in a bid to curb youth violence, even though some experts say that curfews for minors do not reduce crime.

In the southern city of Nimes, a temporary curfew has been introduced for children under 16 after a spate of urban violence linked to drug trafficking.

Beziers in the south of France, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine north of Paris, and Villecresnes in Paris’s southeastern suburbs have adopted similar bans.

Last year, 6% of crimes in France were suspected to have been carried out by teens aged between 13 to 17, according to the French interior ministry. 

More than a third of violent robberies without a weapon were attributed to suspects in that age group. 

Curfews have arisen as a response to the statistics, though not everyone is convinced that they are effective.

Rights campaigners have argued for more community engagement rather than curfews.

Nathalie Tehio, head of the French Human Rights League, called for the development of “educational measures” rather than “repressive” bans.

Her group has taken legal action against a ban in the town of Triel-sur-Seine, saying that curfews are “not an effective response”. 

‘Parents are much more careful’

“It’s become very quiet,” said Cedric Aoun, the mayor of Triel-sur-Seine, which is located 35 kilometres west of Paris.

An 11pm to 5am curfew has been introduced in Triel-sur-Seine for under-18s after a series of incidents involving damage of public property and theft.

Aoun said many families have started taking their parental responsibilities more seriously. “Parents are much more careful,” he said.

More towns in France are enforcing curfews for teenagers irrespective of their mayors’ political leanings as authorities seek to respond to youth crime.

The head of the Triel-sur-Seine municipal police Anthony Rouet said the curfew “allows us to take preventive action before damage is done”.

So far, his team has mostly been talking to teens about the night-time ban on being in the streets and has not been issuing them with tickets.

But he also said that, when police did report some teenagers to the judiciary, this had not deterred them from reoffending.

“They weren’t punished and came back and started vandalising and stealing again,” said Rouet.

Some parents support the ban. “At 17, you have no business being out on the street” at night, said Mickael Chapparelli, 35.

Another resident said: “Here, parents of most of the children who hang around until 2am say it’s no problem. And when they get into trouble, they say it’s not their son.”

Police resources

The mayor of Villecresnes, Patrick Farcy, lamented police staffing shortages.

They do not respond to calls late at night except during the weekends, and street lighting is turned off in some areas to limit gatherings.

He said authorities had reported around 40 violations of the curfew since the beginning of the summer, but not all parents had received the related fines.

“Too much time passes between the offence being reported and the fine being issued,” Farcy said.

The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau, Michel Amiel, outside the southern port city of Marseille said the effectiveness of the curfew was hard to estimate.

Last year, he temporarily ordered children under 13 off the streets between 11pm and 6am but has not reintroduced the ban this year.

He said the effectiveness of the ban was “difficult to quantify” and that it is “mainly psychological”.

© AFP 2025