Detention conditions of minors criticized

A report published on 21 October by lawyers from Seine-Saint-Denis detailed the detention conditions of 17 minors at the Bobigny judicial court detention facility. These conditions included unsanitary cells, lack of mattresses, and unbearable temperatures.

Concerns about treatment of arrested students

These facts pertain to a distinct stage of the detention process but have raised concerns about the treatment of students arrested since the start of the mobilizations. Maître Meriem Ghenim, a lawyer at the Seine-Saint-Denis bar and head of the Syndicat des avocats de France, stated, "They are, for the most part, mistreated, insulted, and a number are sexually assaulted. We have many reports of violence."

Testimonies of racial abuse

These accusations echo the testimonies of several students. On 2 October, Mediapart reported the testimony of Mohamed, 16 years old, a student at the Paul Éluard high school in Saint-Denis, who was placed in custody for 48 hours after being arrested on 29 September. The teenager claimed he was locked in a cell meant for three people with four, received only one meal a day, and endured racist insults, including "dirty little Arab."

Repetition of racist language

According to Maître Pierre Brunisso, a lawyer at the Paris bar and member of the collective La Bar, "we have racist insults, 'dirty monkey,' 'dirty black,' which are repeated." These humiliations are accompanied by particularly trying detention conditions.

Psychological impact of detention

Maître Loïc Le Quellec described these conditions: "When you are thrown into a filthy cell, after an arrest, when your personal effects are taken away, when you are made to wait in a cell without knowing precisely what your fate will be, all of this is deeply humiliating and deeply traumatic." For this lawyer, former reference for custody at the Seine-Saint-Denis bar, the situation is not new.

History of criticized detention practices

He recalled having conducted several visits to police stations, notably in Bondy and Aubervilliers, which led to two condemnations of the state for deplorable detention conditions. The student mobilizations have thus caused a massive influx of minors into facilities whose reception conditions were already criticized.

Questioning the use of custody

The lawyers questioned the use of custody itself. Maître Pierre Brunisso stated, "We are faced with more than zealous arrests, because there are many young people placed in custody, even though there is not even a hint of a criminal offense. This tells you how custody is used as a deterrent, I think, and as a means of traumatizing all children."

Legal framework for custody

The law strictly regulates this deprivation of liberty. A person can only be placed in custody if there are plausible reasons to suspect them of having committed or attempted to commit a crime or offense punishable by imprisonment. The measure must also meet one of the objectives set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure, notably the needs of the investigation.

Increase in custody placements

Since the start of the student movement, these procedures have multiplied. According to figures from the Ministry of Justice communicated on 14 October, 7,950 people were placed in custody, including 6,773 minors. Some arrests took place at the edges of high schools, at the homes of the teenagers, or even within the premises of their schools, sometimes under particularly violent conditions.

Custody as intimidation

Maître Le Quellec stated, "In reality, we have a complete deviation of this procedure that serves only one purpose, to intimidate these minors." On 15 October, police from the anticriminality brigade (BAC) entered the Paul Éluard high school in Saint-Denis to try to arrest Bilal, a 16-year-old student accused of insulting an officer following a demonstration related to the student mobilization.

Reactions to police intervention

The CGT Éduc’action 93 had denounced an "extremely brutal" intervention. The images of the scene, widely shared on social media, had caused strong indignation. However, teachers describe the teenager as a "law-abiding" and "well-liked" young person.

Most arrested students have no prior issues

For Maître Le Quellec, "For the vast majority of young people we assist, what comes up is that these are young people who have never had any dealings with the police. And often, they are high school students. Simply." For Maître Ghenim, the multiplication of these procedures has a specific objective: to discourage adolescents from continuing their mobilization.

Low rate of judicial proceedings

A custody, consequences beyond the police station. Especially since these custodies do not necessarily lead to judicial proceedings. According to figures from the Ministry of Justice as of 14 October, only 2,190 of the 6,773 minors placed in custody were subject to judicial proceedings, less than a third.

Impact on families and students

Nearly 2,000 others were subject to alternative measures to proceedings. Maître Loïc Le Quellec estimated, "A very large number of young people will not be subject to proceedings or will be subject to alternative measures to proceedings, with files that are often empty and highly questionable."

Judicial validation of custody

The lawyer also questions the role of the judicial institution in the multiplication of these procedures, as custody "is validated by the judicial authority despite a penalty response rate that could ultimately prove low." However, even when they do not lead to any proceedings, these procedures can leave lasting traces.

Disproportionate impact on vulnerable families

And not all families have the same resources to deal with them. For lawyers representing students without residence permits, it is a double punishment. Maître Ghenim observed, "Families who are more aware, politicized, etc., they can integrate all of this, families who are very far from this, they are terrified."

Triple punishment for some families

The anxiety is even greater for families whose children do not have a residence permit. "For the colleagues who defend students without a residence permit, it is a double punishment. These parents are completely terrified." Maître Brunisso mentions, on the other hand, a "triple punishment": the trauma of custody, the difficulties encountered by families in finding a lawyer, and the possible school sanctions to which students may be exposed.

Long-term consequences for students

Behind the figures of arrests and judicial decisions, there are also adolescents, sometimes facing the police for the first time, and entire families who must deal with the consequences of these procedures. As several students are still to be tried in the coming weeks, Maître Ghenim calls for not to relax solidarity once the demonstrations are over. "When everything has calmed down, it is important that these people know there are still people who will support them."