The city of Nîmes has become the first major French city to implement a nightly curfew for minors under the age of 16, as authorities scramble to respond to an intensifying wave of gang violence, largely linked to drug trafficking in the city’s poorer districts.
The curfew, which comes into effect on the evening of Monday, July 21, runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for an initial two-week period, with the option to renew it for another 15 days.
This move follows a growing trend in France, where at least ten municipalities, including Béziers, Triel-sur-Seine, and Saint-Ouen, have implemented similar measures in recent weeks. In Nîmes, the curfew specifically targets six districts hit hardest by drug violence: Pissevin, Valdegour, Mas de Mingue, Vistre, Clos d’Orville, and Chemin Bas.
Announcing the curfew on Friday, the city cited “a succession of shootings, score-settling, and gang tensions” as justification for the draconian measure. One such incident occurred just days earlier in Place Léonard de Vinci, where another shooting left local residents shaken. “The fear is there,” said 63-year-old caretaker Mohamed Ali Bedja, cited by L’Independant, who lamented the lack of visible police patrols.
The community center Les Mille Couleurs shut its doors out of concern for staff and children. “Even after the death of little Fayed, I hadn’t felt so much tension,” said director Raouf Azzouz, referring to the 10-year-old killed in August 2023 by a stray bullet in a gang shooting.
Fear among locals has grown further by threats from gangsters circulated on social media, warning, “We’re going to kill even 5-year-olds,” and promising to gun down anyone who crosses a man in black. Videos posted online show armed men sprinting through Pissevin with Kalashnikov rifles in broad daylight.
Despite the curfew, many residents and community leaders remain skeptical. A local grocer, originally from Pissevin, recalled better times when the youth had access to leisure centers and summer programs. “Rather than a curfew, we need more money for neighborhood associations,” he said.
Deputy mayor for security Richard Schieven defended the curfew as a necessary measure: “It aims to protect minors who have nothing to do with trafficking, but also those, sometimes as young as 12 or 13, who are used by drug traffickers.” The Prefect of Gard has promised around 60 additional police officers to bolster local security efforts.
The underlying crisis, however, is far from over. In recent months, violence typically associated with Marseille has spread to smaller cities like Nîmes and Avignon. Last Tuesday, a 19-year-old man from Seine-Saint-Denis near Paris was found partially burned and murdered in a village outside the city — a killing linked to the drug wars in Nîmes, according to prosecutors. In 2023, a teenager and a 10-year-old were killed in similar contexts.
According to police union Unité, while the curfew might be “useful,” it’s not a solution. “Young offenders are shooting people with impunity, in broad daylight,” said union official Wissem Guesmi. “A curfew is certainly not going to stop them.”
“For me, a child needs to be with his parents. This avoids spiralling into delinquency,” said police officer Stéphane Brigadier in a France 24 report on the issue.
“What’s changed is the scope of the drug trafficking. It’s across the nation, and not just in the projects of big cities,” added Nicolas Prisse, head of MILDECA, the French state’s anti-drugs mission.
France 24 reported the French interior ministry’s estimation that there are over 10,000 French minors involved in drug trafficking.
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