In the north of France in Amiens on the night of August 14-15, 2012, there were pogroms, arson and fights with the police. Street gangs have long been a major problem in all major world cities. The incident in French Amiens is connected with the unsettledness of young people from disadvantaged areas, who expect changes for the better from the cabinet of François Hollande.
The reason for the first clashes with the police was the tragic incident in which a 20-year-old young man was killed while trying to escape from the patrol. After his death on 12 August, motorcycle youth groups gathered to discuss the incident. They behaved aggressively, the traffic police tried to call the hooligans to order, but this ended in massive fights. By Monday, Special Forces (CRS) were mobilized, which also failed to cope with the gangs. The attack aircraft opened fire from various firearms.
16 police officers were injured in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. After that, Manuel Valls, the Minister of the Interior of France, arrived in Amiens. But, despite the reinforced police detachments, young people from the "problem" areas do not give up their positions and continue "partisan" sorties with the destruction of shop windows and arson of cars.
Crowds of angry young people demanded that the minister stop the police brutality. Many locals support the slogans of unsettled youth, they would rather have the government take care of job creation and youth education than reinforce and arm storm troopers.
But Manuel Waltz intends to demand from the government an increase in the police force, which was greatly reduced during the Sarkozy presidency. The minister believes that this is the only way to fight urban motorized gangs that move quickly through the streets, rob residents, damage shops and attack patrols.
Damage to Amiens as a result of this incident is estimated at millions of euros. During these August nights, three large public buildings, dozens of cars, hundreds of garbage cans, and one school were burned down. François Hollande identified 15 priority security zones in France, where special police forces will be concentrated to fight street gangs.
It turns out that the dialogue between the French government and disadvantaged youth starts again from a position of strength.
