The youth condition and the rebellions of the suburbs in France

Abstract

Starting from a comparison between the student movement of 1968 and youth riots of French suburbs in October and November of 2005, it is considered that, in common, the juvenile condition from the social actors was important to the beginning of the rebellion, albeit it being youths from different social classes and with different cravings: in 1968, the “freedom”, in 2005, the “equality”. A critical analysis about different interpretations from the riot of 2005 is done, especially when they depart from the explanation that the events were motivated by social discontentment and caused by inequality in treatment from society and State to immigrants, but whose children and grandchildren profess themselves French citizens. Among those interpretations, the one of ethnic revolting from the acknowledgment of “difference”, as well as the urban mutiny and juvenile delinquency (which pointed towards a so-called “irrationality” of the violence promoted during the events). Keywords: juvenile condition; riots of French’s suburbs; equality; May 1968; urban mutiny; ethnic riot; juvenile delinquency.