The Teen Gangs of Paris

14 year old girl killed in a gang fight with a dozen other teenagers in February. A 15 year old boy left in a coma after a vicious gang beating. Another 14 year old girl beaten, pushed into the Seine and left to drown by two classmates. In the past months, Paris has witnessed a wave of extreme youth violence.

We meet the members of these bands, who explain how and why they defend their territory. This spiral of deadly violence has been blamed on the economic crisis, lack of social protection and increasing use of social
networks. But social networks are also being used to stop the violence. Police scrutinize them, intervening as quickly as possible to prevent the brawls from turning into tragedies.

Nathalie Birimta’s son was 17 when he was stabbed to death in 2018 in a brawl between two rival gangs. She has since created the collective “Fighting Mother” and intervenes as soon as she is alerted that a brawl is likely to occur. Rapper Adama Camara spent five years in prison after gang fights. He now tours colleges, telling his story to young people, to prevent them from making the same mistakes as him.