Jeunes et gangs de rue: l'informel comme lieu et forme d'action politique à Montréal.

Based on a critical analysis of the public debate on street gangs in Quebec, which is currently structured by preventive actions geared towards "at-risk" youth, this paper explores the relationship that youth construct with the State. Firstly, the article analyses the social construction of the threat attributed to street gangs in order to reveal the underlying logics of gang activities as much as of preventive programs. By comparing these two logics of action which are called "urban" for youth and street gangs and "actuarial" for preventive programs, the paper suggests that preventive measures in Montreal have a threefold effect: stigmatisation, depoliticisation, and moralisation. The analysis of these effects leads in the third part of the paper to theoretical reflections on the notion of (urban) citizenship and its relevance for understanding the relationship that youth using illicit vectors construct with the State. The paper concludes with an exploration of the notion of informality and asks an open question: Can the notion of citizenship accommodate the informal mode of relation that youth and many other urban dwellers develop with the State? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]