In Béziers, the curfew for children under 13 will come into force this Monday at 11 p.m.

La Police municipale de Béziers est chargée de mettre en oeuvre l'arrêté. Midi Libre – PIERRE SALIBA

As announced this Sunday, the mayor of Béziers Robert Ménard issued a municipal decree establishing a curfew for children under 13 in certain districts of the city from this Monday, February 22, at 11 p.m. and until September 30. A measure of common sense, according to him.

The municipal decree comes into force this Monday, April 22, at 11 p.m., and will be applicable until September 30. So every evening, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., in the three priority districts of the city (under the Urban Policy), namely the city center, La Devèze, Grangette and Iranget, children under 13 years of age unaccompanied by an adult will not be allowed to be outside.

The municipal police officers, during their night patrols, were ordered to take them to the police station as part of the application of this decree. "Parents will have to come pick up their children", explains Robert Ménard. They also risk criminal prosecution. The mayor of Béziers immediately bounced back, after the encouraging words of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on the subject of the curfew, and brought out this measure that he had already put in place in 2014 in through a first decree. Order challenged by the Human Rights League which finally won its case, four years later, before the Council of State, on the grounds that "the City of Béziers had not provided precise and detailed elements likely to support the existence of particular risks relating to minors under 13…& ;quot;

"It’is obvious and not ideological"

Given the positioning of the current government, Robert Ménard is relaunching this system. A measure that he considers "common sense". "Because we are concerned about everyone's safety and the protection of children", he emphasizes. "And he is not a political response but a response that goes with everyone", he insists.& nbsp;Has delinquency increased among minors in Béziers ?"You would have to be acting in bad faith not to notice this. I saw the videos of the riots last June, there were a number of kids! Everyone sees it: there are more and more young people and they are more and more violent. I draw the consequences and I am not the only mayor to do so." And to denounce "an abysmal gulf between state advisors and the reality of what people are experiencing".

"It doesn't flatter me to say that the right is right against the left, that has no interest. Children do not have to be on the street at these times, that is obvious and not ideological. I don't think it's THE answer but one of the little answers, one of the elements. Others could be considering at the local level, with a view to reasserting authority.

The Human Rights League is considering an appeal

The Human Rights League, through its lawyer Sophie Mazas, is waiting to become aware of the famous decree. And explains that he is counting on the prefectural authority to step up to the plate… Invoking "the authority of res judicata", Sophie Mazas unfolds : "Justice has already ruled. As a matter of principle, there is no justification for him to overrule justice". The Human Rights League is considering an appeal for annulment, or even an emergency appeal.  As a reminder, she had already challenged a similar decree in 2014, on the basis of the 1945 ordinance relating to delinquent children and finally won her case, 4 years later, before the state council.

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