International Journal on Criminology
The violence committed by the gangs during the demonstrations also shows racist attacks . In fact , these gangs take advantage of the crowds in the demonstrations to attack and rob targeted individuals , as in the March 8 , 2003 demonstration , which caused dozens of injuries : “ Witnesses repeatedly heard statements such as : ‘ We ’ re going to break up little white people . Some high school students are the victims of beatings at ten to one ; they are punched , kicked , and beaten with sticks ; girls are dragged by their hair . Racist insults are hurled : ‘ dirty white man ’ is the watchword of these organized lynchings . […] Dozens of teenagers are taken to hospitals . After investigation , we learned that most of the aggressors came from Seine-Saint-Denis and the northern districts of Paris .” 20
These gangs also took advantage of the demonstrations to attack the demonstrators directly , thus “ from 2005 [ demonstrations against the Fillon law ], the same criminals also attacked the demonstrators themselves . Many demonstrators are attacked , with the novelty of attacks specifically targeting young ‘ white ’ high school students ” 21 . Unlike other protest movements that may have political or religious demands , the urban violence is linked to a form of irrationality , since it is a reaction linked to a contempt for institutions and not to political or social demands , as the November 2005 riots proved , and even the anarcho-autonomous anarchists themselves admit : “ This whole series of night strikes , anonymous attacks , and destruction without words has had the merit of opening up the gap between politics and politics to the maximum . No one can honestly deny the burden of obviousness of this assault , which made no demands , no message other than a threat , and which had nothing to do with politics .” 22
In this sense , there is a fundamental difference between urban guerrilla warfare and urban violence , because there is no political objective in urban violence , whereas urban guerrilla warfare is carried out from a revolutionary perspective , which “ seeks to overthrow the regime in place in order to impose a revolutionary Marxist regime , while in the suburbs one can question the objectives that are really being pursued .” 23
Finally , what can be said about this urban violence ? Are they a form of protest with subversive tendencies ? It is clear that this violence is a form of protest , but it would perhaps be simplistic to see it as a tendency to subversion . This urban violence does not mark an attempt to destabilize the state , but on the contrary to claim a territory while defying the state , and in the end , to apply a counter-state in their territory , which could be seen as one of the prisms of the new feudal systems ( in total connection with organized crime , and the so-called underground economy , which turns out to be a real economy of the department ).
20 Pellegrini ( C .), Banlieues en flammes , Ed . Anne Carrière , Paris , 2005 , p . 74-75 21 Bauer ( A .) et Soullez ( C .), Violences et insécurité urbaines , 12 ème éd ., PUF “ Que sais-je ?” 2010 , p . 70 . 22 Comité invisible , L ’ insurrection qui vient , La fabrique éd ., Paris , 2007 , p . 9 .
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