It is a sequence that provoked many reactions: on Tuesday morning, the Secretary of State for Citizenship and the City, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, was in 4V on France 2.
“A Teen is a Minor”
She defended the “authority” of parents – in line with the positions shown by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in recent weeks. “It’s also the mother who is talking to you,” she told Thomas Sotto, before reminding the parents that “you are the authority.”
And to continue: “I want to return to something that has struck me in recent years: to think that a teenager has a private life. A teenager is a minor. So the parents have the right to search the phone, look for something in the room. »
“The crazy thing is that we said ‘be careful, they have a right to their private life’. No ! “, the minister insisted.
The privacy of minors is protected
And yet: the lyrics are more subtle, but rather contradict Sabrina Agresti-Roubache.
First, it is Article 16 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified in 1990 by 197 states, including France. This text – the most widely ratified in the world – states that “no child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his private life, his family, his home or his correspondence. And that therefore “l“A child has the right to legal protection against such interference or assault.”
In February, he strengthened the law
French law actually protects the private life of the child:Article 371-1 of the Civil Code states that “parental authority” represents “a set of rights and obligations focused on the interests of the child”. It also specifies that this “is done without physical or psychological violence” and that “parents involve the child in decisions that concern them, according to his age and level of maturity.”
This article was even strengthened last February to better protect… the private lives of minors! It refers to Article 9 of the same Civil Code, according to which “ceveryone has the right to respect for their private life” – regardless of age.
Because the private life of minors is indeed a legal reality, as human rights defender Claire Hédon recalled in her 2022 report, and yet: “Although legally established, this right is little recognized in practice and too often disregarded,” she lamented.
A question of balance
From that moment on, everything is a matter of balance according to the “age and level of maturity” of the adolescent. With only one compass: self protection. And it’s all the more complicated for young people who are close to coming of age, Claire Hédon acknowledges. Who regrets that “access to correspondence tools and especially smartphones” is “not further regulated”. The result is “highly variable practices” and the false notion that a minor has no private life.
But experts in child psychology cited in the report are unanimous: stressing that respect for private life is “essential for the development of autonomy and trust”, they advise parents to engage in dialogue and set clear rules rather than resorting to secrecy tracking.
The trust in question
Many reactions on social media point to a loss of trust in parents if they interfere too much in their children’s privacy.
” Rummaging through a teenager’s phone is the surest way to completely sever ties with them and their trust in adults in general,” says the professor at X. “Don’t do it. Authority is not about teaching children that their privacy can be violated,” adds another internet user. A few rare reactions, however, welcome the words of Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, but she the sentence shocked most.
“Intrusive Measures”
And even in the presidential majority: MP Eric Bothorel distanced himself:
He believes that Sabrina Agresti-Roubache’s comments are supporting measures that “intrude on the privacy of a child’s life, a teenager”.