France imposes curfews in several cities amid a wave of violence in immigrant-dominated neighborhoods
France has returned to curfews—not because of a virus, but due to unleashed street violence that security forces can no longer control. In recent weeks, there have been shootings involving hundreds of people, prison arson, and crimes during wedding celebrations. In 2023 alone, drug-related violence has caused over 100 deaths and 300 injuries across the country.
The most recent situation is in Nîmes, southern France, where starting this Monday, a nighttime curfew for minors under 16 will be enforced from 9 PM to 6 AM for two weeks, extendable. The city joins about ten others already applying this measure since late June, including Béziers, Triel-sur-Seine, Saint-Ouen, and entire suburbs of Paris.
The trigger in Nîmes was the recent shootings: last Thursday, a new clash between youths left six injured, aged 15 to 20, while the three attackers remain at large. A similar shooting had already occurred in the city on June 27. Following these events, many businesses chose to close over the weekend fearing further unrest.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the partially burned body of a 19-year-old was found in Seine-Saint-Denis, a murder linked by the prosecution to the recent events in Nîmes. The list of victims in these neighborhoods keeps growing: an 18-year-old was shot dead in 2023, and a 10-year-old child died in a case of mistaken identity.
Richard Schieven, Nîmes’ security official, justified the curfew as a way to protect minors “not involved in drug trafficking” as well as those already exploited by criminal networks from ages 12 or 13.
However, neither the police nor residents believe it’s a solution. “Young criminals shoot people in broad daylight with total impunity,” Wissem Guesmi from the police union Unité told AFP. “A curfew won’t stop them,” he added.
In recent months, immigrant-heavy neighborhoods have become common scenes of drug-related revenge attacks and youth violence. In Goult, a bride was killed during a gang war wedding. In Paris, shootings have involved up to 500 people. Violence spreads as authorities try to show control with measures even the police see as ineffective.
