The image of youth violence in France

We’ve heard about gun violence and about school bullying. In France youth have been blamed for a lot of public violent events in the past few years, from a recent riot that broke out in a Paris train station, to the weeks of riots in 2005 in the Paris suburbs. Lamia Belassen is a 17 year old high school student in Paris who is part of a youth group organized by the city. Sarah Elzas asked her what she thought about the depiction of violent French youth:

“I think that instead of showing kids on TV who break cars- it’s unfortunate because then everyone gets an idea that young people are all that way. And when we go into stores, right away- I feel we get looks from store owners wondering if we’re going to steal. And that’s discouraging for all young people. And I think that it encourages them to do stupid things, since they aren’t encouraged at all by the adult world. Instead of showing youth groups that are trying to do interesting things in the city, they show violent youth. Who are violent- not necessarily because they want to hurt someone, but because they want to be noticed.”

Do you feel the effects of age discrimination in your daily life?

“Oui. Yeah.”

So in stores, where else do you feel it?

“Even teachers, for example. Even parents have less trust in their kids. There’s also discrimination against foreigners. Sorry to bring it up, but it’s reality. When I turn on the TV it’s a guy named Mamadou or Mohammed who destroyed a car or knocked over an old lady. That generalizes everyone, and that really bothers me. I have had experiences like this- since I’m not completely French- I have Arab roots. I feel that we are always noticed, and that scares me. Because later, when an employer sees an application with the name Marion on it, or one that has Samia on it- I think they’ll take Marion. And it sees to me that contributes to excluding us.”

Do you think that maybe contributes to a certain anger that might then express itself in some people in a violence tendency?

“The more we see it on TV, the more it turns into anger, whereas it may not have started out as anger. The more you hear, the more you’re tempted to say, ‘well they excluded us, too late, why not do something stupid to bother them even more.’ It’s a reactionary anger. It’s not a voluntary anger that you want to take responsibility for- It’s more an anger to say ‘look, we’re here’. Maybe it’s a call for help, I don’t know. I’m not in their shoes, I don’t really know- but I think that’s what it is.”

Youth violence is blamed on many things, from society problems, to racism, to rap music. What do you think the roots of the problem, what do you think of these solutions? Is rap music to blame for violence? What’s going on?

“It’s true that rap music is often seen as being violent. But I think its better to write words what you really feel, even if it involves violent in the words. It’s better than burning cars. And I think rap is like all other music: each person has their subject- rappers are denouncing what they experience in the projects, since that’s really where it takes place. And I think it’s a really good way to liberate yourself.”

Does music incite people to violence?

“It’s possible. It depends on the person. It’s sure that rappers often use violent and brutal words. It’s not a call for violence, but people can perceive it that way.”