Malaise dans la colonisation. Pour une clinique de la délinquance juvénile en pays kanak

Abstract

For several years, New Caledonia has been worrying about its youth’s malaise and discontent as exempliied in suicides, addictions, risky behaviour and juvenile delinquency, the latter being the salient phenomenon in the local news. his mainly strikes the Kanak, those living in tribes close to Nouméa, as well as those living within urban Nouméa, but not only. It is diicult to understand such behaviour and phenomenon from the perspective of common sense. Public opinion tends to condemn this youth which, along with being helpless is laden with complete responsibility for their acts. However, the very existence of special courts for the underage points to part of the responsibility being that of the family and of society. In this contribution, we will develop the idea that juvenile delinquency in Kanak country is itself the symptom of a sufering Caledonian society. his is why a clinical approach of the subject should be conducted in close association with a clinical approach of the social. his in order to get rid of some of the all too obvious interpretations of this phenomenon.