Data obtained in interviews with French experts and workers in the field of juvenile delinquency suggest that antisocial juvenile gangs in Paris tend to be associated with recurrent indices of social disorganization: poverty, overcrowding, slum housing, disruption of family life, and the lack of recreational facilities. Delinquent gangs persist in low-rent housing estates located in the "banlieues" of Paris. The delinquent-gang problem in Paris has not reached the dimensions it has in some U.S. cities. Gangs do not "war" against one another in Paris, and juvenile drug-taking and drug-trafficking gangs do not exist in Paris. Parisian juvenile gangs are smaller, less formally organized, and less cohesive than typical American juvenile gangs. Still, gang members in both cultures have similar life patterns: early termination of schooling, irregular employment, regular drinking habits, and a wide range of delinquent activities. When a large Parisian gang does evolve, however, it partially resembles the structure and design of American juvenile fighting gangs. Possible reasons for differences in juvenile gangs in Paris and U.S. cities are the relative absence of adult criminal enterprises in Paris to serve as role models for juvenile gangs and the traditional social structure in France that conditions lower class youths not to experience strongly felt discrepancies between aspirations for wealth and legitimate income opportunities. 18 footnotes