The number of minors prosecuted for murders, assassinations, fatal blows, and aggravated voluntary violence increased by 74% between 2017 and 2023 in France.
55% confidence
Internal AffairsFrance
Omissions
Only one secondary source (Le Monde, 2025-03-11) addressing the claim was found; the primary Ministry of Justice statistical report containing the raw data could not be located within the search constraints.
Two independent sources or one primary source confirming the claim could not be found. The Le Monde article is a reputable secondary source but alone is insufficient for a definitive verdict under the verification protocol.
The claim does not specify whether the 74% figure refers to 'mineurs poursuivis' (minors prosecuted), 'mineurs impliqués' (minors involved), or 'mineurs condamnés' (minors convicted) — these are distinct legal categories that can yield different percentages.
A related but different metric appeared in a 20minutes article (2025-06-12) discussing minors 'impliqués' (involved, not prosecuted) in 'meurtre ou violences volontaires ayant entraîné la mort' — a narrower category than the one claimed, making it unsuitable as independent corroboration.
Sources
PrimaryMinistère de la Justice – Références Statistiques Justice 2024Chapter 17 on minors: '48 400 auteurs mineurs ont été poursuivis en 2023, en hausse de 7 % par rapport à 2022.' This covers ALL offenses for minors, not the specific violent crime subcategory claimed (murders, assassinations, fatal blows, aggravated violence). The 7% year-on-year increase for all offenses does not verify or refute the 74% figure for the specific violent crime subcategory.
SecondaryLe MondeArticle titled 'La délinquance des mineurs diminue en France mais les actes les plus violents augmentent'. Description states: 'Le nombre d'adolescents poursuivis pour assassinat, meurtre, coups mortels ou violences aggravées a quasiment doublé entre 2017 et 2023, passant de 270 à 470', which corresponds to an increase of approximately 74%.
Secondary20 MinutesArticle discussing minors involved in murder cases. States: 'Il y a huit ans, 82 mineurs ont été impliqués dans une affaire de meurtre ou de violences volontaires ayant entraîné la mort. En 2022, 2023 et…' — a related but narrower metric (minors 'impliqués' rather than 'poursuivis', and only covering meurtre and violences volontaires ayant entraîné la mort, not the full category of assassinat, coups mortels, and violences aggravées).