14‑Year‑Old ‘La Douane’ Arrested After Phone Theft at Canal Saint‑Martin

Overview

• The teenager known as “La Douane,” identified as Hamza, was arrested with two others on Wednesday July 1 on suspicion of aggravated theft and outrage and rebellion after a reported group theft of a phone, and social videos show him handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle.
• Short self‑filmed clips of the 14‑year‑old charging passersby two euros and threatening to spray them with a water pistol spread across Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and drew live TV crews and millions of views.
• Authorities had already detained the boy days earlier in a garde à vue for violences en réunion, and police sources say he is known for several prior incidents including alleged outrages to officers and minor thefts.
• Lawyer Elsa Marcel is representing the family and has said she will file complaints over racist threats and doxxing, while groups such as SOS Racisme say they will ask media regulator Arcom to act over hate content.
• Reporting links the episode to the late‑June heatwave that turned the canal into an informal cooling spot for youths and highlights wider concerns about child protection, unequal enforcement in poorer neighborhoods and the political amplification of viral teen behavior.