In his speech in Viry-Châtillon, a town south of Paris where a 15-year-old boy was beaten and killed this month by a group of young people, Attal said the state needed “a real surge of authority”.
Lawyers, magistrates and teachers’ unions, as well as politicians on the left, criticised the measures, which come after Emmanuel Macron urged the government to find solutions to what he called the emergence of daily “ultraviolence” among young people.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is far ahead in the European election polls and has accused the government of being lax on security issues.
Adeline Hazan, head of Unicef France, said: “These measures do not seem sufficiently anchored in prevention and support for families, professionals and young perpetrators of violence.
The French magistrates’ union, the Syndicat de la Magistrature, described the measures as “extremely worrying”, saying they would lead to a justice system that “stigmatises”.
Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of the teachers’ union Snes-FSU, said the measures were “simplistic” and “irresponsible” and that schools needed staffing, funding and long-term support from the government, not soundbites.
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