Measures Taken After the Suburban Crisis in France

February 2006, updated in September 2007
Measures Taken After the
Suburban Crisis in France
Suburban violence erupted in Clichy-sous-Bois on 27 October, 2005, and spread
progressively to Seine-Saint-Denis and several major French cities.
Given the gravity of the situation, the government responded to the initial crisis with
firmness (declaring a state of emergency – l’état d’urgence – on 8 November, 2005, which
was then extended until 4 January, 2006). Secondly, a series of appropriate measures were
taken to counter discrimination against people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
On 1 December, 2005 the Prime Minister stated, during a press conference, that equal
opportunity for all would be a National Cause for the year 2006.
On 22 December, 2005, under Decree N° 2005-1621 ( décret n° 2005-1621), Equal
Opportunity Chiefs were appointed in the six Départements that were most affected by the
urban unrest. These senior officials are to coordinate and oversee, together with local elected
officials, resource networks for integration and community life, as well as State provisions
regarding employment, educational support, housing, urban renewal, transport and even
prevention of violence.
On 1 February, 2006 Mr Azouz Begag, Minister with responsibility for the Promotion of
Equal Opportunities, introduced a Plan of Action for the Year of Equal Opportunity in a Council
of Ministers communiqué (communication). The Plan is centred on four axes:
•
reducing inequalities in employment,
•
improving access to training, education and culture, through such diverse means as fostering
parental authority, creation of an internship programme guaranteeing candidates a
“discrimination-free” placement, development of special courses in schools in the newlycreated “Ambition Success” network, voluntary civil service and a sponsorship project.
© Ministère des Affaires étrangères / French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007
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•
•
combating discrimination, by granting broader powers to both the High Authority to Fight
Discrimination and to Promote Equality (known by the French acronym HALDE) and the CSA
(France’s Higher Audiovisual Council),
communication initiatives designed to combat prejudices and bring about a shift in mentality.
As part of this Plan of Action, the Equal Opportunity Act N° 2006-396 was passed on 31
March, 2006 (loi n° 2006-396 du 31 mars 2006 pour l'égalité des chances), having been
prepared by Mr Azouz Begag and Mr Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister for Employment, Social
Cohesion and Housing. The main provisions of the new law are:
•
•
regarding education, employment and economic development
-
institution of junior apprenticeships (l’apprentissage junior) from the age of 14
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internships of more than three months’ duration must be remunerated
-
creation of 15 new “economic opportunity zones”, as of 1 August, 2006, in disadvantaged
urban areas of over 8,500 inhabitants.
regarding equal opportunity and the struggle against discrimination
-
•
creation of a National Agency for Social Cohesion and Equal Opportunity, to launch
initiatives in troubled neighbourhoods
extended mandate for the High Authority to Fight Discrimination and to Promote Equality
(HALDE)
initiatives to combat discrimination in the audiovisual sphere
regarding parental responsibility and the fight against incivility, the law includes
articles concerning absenteeism in schools and family benefit payments, and provides for the
establishment of a six-to-twelve-month voluntary civil service programme (service civil
volontaire) for 16 to 25 year olds. An expected 50,000 youths will have joined the
programme by the end of the year. The decree for its implementation is to come into force
before 14 July, 2006.
Article 8 of this new law established the “first employment contract” – known by its
French initials, CPE – an open-ended contract with a two-year trial period during which time
either the employer or the employee could annul it. This article was replaced by the 21 April,
2006 law number 2006-457 on youth access to private sector employment (loi n°2006-457 du
21 avril 2006 sur l’accès des jeunes à la vie active en entreprise), which implements
concrete measures to facilitate youth professionalisation and labour market entry.
© Ministère des Affaires étrangères / French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007
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To find out more
WEBSITES

Minister with responsibility for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities (Mr Azouz Begag)
http://www.egalitedeschances.gouv.fr

Prime Minister
- News section: equal opportunity initiatives (02/05/2006)
http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/information/les_dossiers_actualites_19/action_pour_egalite_chance
s_806/
- Summary of the law dated 31 March, 2006
http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/information/actualites_20/egalite_chances_adoption_definitive_555
04.html
- Update on the law of 31 March, 2006 (02/06/2006)
http://www.premierministre.gouv.fr/acteurs/communiques_4/reunion_interministerielle_sur_egalite_561
51.html

High Authority to Fight Discrimination and to Promote Equality (HALDE)
http://www.halde.fr/
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Les violences urbaines de l'automne 2005. Autopsie d'un phénomène inédit / Olivier
Hassid.- Cahiers de la sécurité – nouvelle série, n°1, juillet-septembre 2007, pp.9-18

Les violences urbaines de novembre 2005 : une affaire de bandes ? / François HAUT,
Henri HOPE.- Cahiers de la sécurité – nouvelle série, n°1, juillet-septembre 2007, pp.9-18

Crise des banlieues et Etat-providence (Suburban Crisis and Welfare) / Thierry
Foucart. – Commentary, N°114, summer, 2006

Banlieues en urgence : dossier (Suburban Emergency: Special File) / Dominique
Rousseau and Pierre Martinot-Lagarde. – Project, N°291, March, 2006

Comprendre les violences urbaines : dossier. (Understanding the Urban Violence:
Special File) – Perspectives on Current Events, N°319, March, 2006

Fracture sociale ou fracture nationale ? : de la gravité des violences urbaines de
l’automne 2005 (Social Rift or National Rift?: the importance of the autumn 2005
suburban violence) / Béatrice Giblin. – Hérodote, N°120, 1st Quarter, 2006

Peut-on mesurer les violences urbaines ? (How to Assess the Urban Violence?) /
Alex Bauer and Christophe Soullez. – Report from the National Observatory on Delinquency,
2006, pp 453-460

La France des émeutes : dossier. (The France of Civil Unrest: Special File) – Esprit,
N°12, December, 2005
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© Ministère des Affaires étrangères / French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2007
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