Kids in cuffs meet suits with souls — the French justice system like you've never seen.
At DIFAJE, the Family and Youth Affairs Division of the Bobigny Court, the duties of young prosecutors are the same, with one exception: they deal with minors who are either victims or perpetrators of crimes. For the latter, the prosecutor is the first person they deal with in the legal system, their first point of contact. He or she is the one who gives society's initial response to a young person whose future is already uncertain. Between prevention and punishment, the magistrate's role is a delicate one. He or she must combine authority with education. He or she must deal with the reality of a complex environment and with the differences and vulnerabilities of each individual.
Direction
Guionet's patient observation lets silence speak louder than testimony.
Production
Remarkable access to Bobigny's closed-door juvenile hearings.
Director
Emmanuel Guionet
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bobigny's Seine-Saint-Denis department has France's highest youth poverty rate; this courtroom is where national inequality becomes personal.
French juvenile law mandates 'educational' responses, but the film reveals how budget cuts and overcrowding often make detention the default 'solution.'
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