Mayor imposes authoritarian and unfeasible curfew on children
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice (UMP), has imposed a curfew on children aged 13 and under.
The curfew forbids children from going out on the streets without an adult after 11pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
In principle, there is no reason for a minor to be out on the streets alone at night. However, this curfew is nothing but an ineffective and impractical publicity stunt.
Estrosi: “I said go to your room.”
Estrosi is showing a deeply authoritarian side to his personality, as was shown when he decided to ban street performers that had not passed his quality exam. (See my piece on that.)
In addition, this stunt has been designed to help Estrosi and his right-wing UMP party to make a few headlines on security issues just a few months before the regional elections. (More on them here and here).
The curfew is also impossible to administer and totally irresponsible. There are at most a little more than a dozen police patrols at night for 360,000 inhabitants. Children on the streets is not only a tiny problem, the police have much more frequent and serious crime incidents to deal with. The fact that Estrosi himself has closed 17 préfectures (police stations) makes matters worse.
In a typical fashion, Estrosi will be using the right hand to punish “offenders” by cutting and removing benefits instead of investigating why parents are letting their children out at night.
This is another trademark Estrosi policy; mad, worrying, dangerous and completely impossible. It’s Sarkozyism applied on a local level.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
…and why is it only implemented 3 days a week?
Do paedophiles/otherwise warped individuals/drunkards etc on the`streets from whom I imagine he purports to be protecting such children (to try and give this measure more legitimacy) always have the rest of the week off – "No, not tonight mate, its a Tuesday" – ?! And even so, I didn't see any under 13s wandering round at night when I was in Nice (do you?) so it is really, really not a major problem. This sounds such a stupid idea that I can't even believe someone has suggested it!
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Hadleigh Roberts Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Well said, Hannah.
You're point about 3 days a week is dead right. I'd noted it but forgot to mention it in the article.
You're also right to pick up on the point that there are hardly any children wandering around at night anyway. So not only is it impossible with the resources, it's also difficult! It's like searching for a needle in a haystack using only 2 fingers!
Finally, it's not only been suggested, it's been adopted! He's mad I tell you.
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Hadleigh Roberts Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Well said, Hannah.
You're point about 3 days a week is dead right. I'd noted it but forgot to mention it in the article.
You're also right to pick up on the point that there are hardly any children wandering around at night anyway. So not only is it impossible with the resources, it's also difficult! It's like searching for a needle in a haystack using only 2 fingers!
Finally, it's not only been suggested, it's been adopted! He's mad I tell you.
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December 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Next step but one is enforcement by vigilantes of dubious probity.
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December 12th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Absolutely well said, Hannah. Your point about pedophiles especially, since most cases of sexual abuse are perpetrated by family members or close family friends.
It's a ridiculous policy – children who want to go out past 11pm, and more importantly, who do go out after 11pm, will do so regardless. It's not even a question of parents letting their kids out at that time – either their parents aren't involved or aren't aware that their kids are even out of bed.
How exactly does he plan to punish these kids found wandering around? Take them to jail for the night? Fine their parents? Ground them? It's not that this is going to far, really, living in Canada I'm all for involved government, but this is really just a waste of time and obviously limited resources.
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Hadleigh Roberts Reply:
December 12th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I don't have all the details, but as I said in the piece Michelle, the punishment will come typically in the form of reduced benefits (for parents who obviously need them, or else they might be better parents, as you correctly noticed.) I understand that repeat offenders will have something put on their file.
Criminal records at 13? That's not really going to help the kid get on the right track.
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Hadleigh Roberts Reply:
December 12th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I don't have all the details, but as I said in the piece Michelle, the punishment will come typically in the form of reduced benefits (for parents who obviously need them, or else they might be better parents, as you correctly noticed.) I understand that repeat offenders will have something put on their file.
Criminal records at 13? That's not really going to help the kid get on the right track.
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December 12th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Unless the children are easily scared straight (like me, getting in trouble was my worst nightmare,) I completely agree that it won't help a kid who may or may not be falling in with a bad crowd get back on track, and it will only hinder him later on if they're looking for a job. Do juvenile records disappear at 18 in France like they do in the US?
I wonder also if the police will take into account why the kid is out in the first place – I mean, punishing the parents because the kid really wanted a bloody bag of chips one Saturday night? I know I'm an adult but I can assure you that insatiable cravings for chocolate have sent me to the dep. two streets over at the most bizarre hours of the night!
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