#Sciences Po Paris

[sissa-arrows]

The way French journalist are angry at Sciences Po’s protests for Palestine is funny cause at some point all of them say “This is the future elite of our country and they are too far on the left” and “the future elite of our country is being manipulated by the islamists it’s so scary” 😂

I don’t associate Sciences Po with good things because of my personal experience (it’s not Sciences Po’s fault it’s my high school’s fault if anyone is interested about how it’s like to be used as a token and to have the school lying to your parents to be able to still use you I can tell you the story 😂) but these students are doing things right and the way they are scaring white supremacists is so fucking enjoyable.

[jloisse]

🇫🇷🇵🇸Une bannière accrochée par des étudiants de l'Institut d'études politiques de Paris, dans le cadre de leurs activités en faveur de la Palestine et de Gaza.

[allthegeopolitics]

French police officers entered the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) in Paris and removed pro-Palestinian student activists who had occupied its buildings to protest Israel’s war on Gaza. Reporting from the French capital, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said that police on Friday “moved in” into one of the buildings and removed more than 50 students who were staging a sit-in, including some who had begun a hunger strike. “They [students] have filtered out slowly. They were allowed to leave the scene. It seems that it had gone off peacefully,” she said. James, a student at the university, told Al Jazeera that earlier on Friday, the school administrator held another round of talks with protesters, but negotiations to move the protest elsewhere on campus broke down. “There were no assurances given that there wouldn’t be a police intervention after people leave the rooms,” he said.

Continue Reading.

[johnvenus]

Heartfelt message from the students of Palestine to all the US students currently protesting:

Source (link to instagram)

[saintrouge]

Librairie du Centre Pompidou, Paris 2023

It's been a week and a half since I returned from Paris. While being there, I could think of only one thing: the library one could have if they lived in such a place.

[sugardelights]

Universities and Career Opportunities in Paris

[mydaddywiki]

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Physique: Average Build Height: 5’ 9" (1.75 m)

Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005; aged 81) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling monarchs in European history. He was crucially responsible for the transformation of Monaco’s economy, shifting from its traditional casino gambling base to its current status as a tax haven and cultural destination. The Prince also coordinated the substantial reforms of Monaco’s constitution, which limited the powers of sovereign rule.

Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the only son of Hereditary Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre. Rainier's early education was conducted in England, at the public schools of Summerfields in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, and after 1935 at Stowe School, in Buckinghamshire. Rainier then attended the Institut Le Rosey in Rolle and Gstaad, Switzerland from 1939, before continuing to the University of Montpellier in France, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943, before studying at Sciences Po Paris in Paris. Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco upon the death of his maternal grandfather, Prince Louis II, on 9 May 1949, at the age of 25.

Rainier married American film star Grace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children with one of them being highly fuckable Albert. Anyway, I can see why he pulled Grace Kelly. Prince of not, I’m saying yes to anything he would have offered. Watersports. Slapping nuns. Putting babies on spikes. OK, that last one was a joke and would have been an immediate no, but I would have thought about it. Again, look at him!

Rainier died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection as a result of frequent smoking; he was succeeded by his son, Albert II.

[mirkobloom77]

‼️🇵🇸🎓 The student encampments in support of Palestine have spread to the Sciences Po in Paris

🔸 Sources: Al Jazeera and Dalal Mawad

⬇️ The universities that have begun encampments in solidarity with Gaza (as of 24th of April, 10:46 in GMT-6 time)

⬇️ A video on how the Columbia University’s encampments in support of Palestine may have a domino effect

[ey3bags]

Police harshly intervene in pro-Palestine protest at Sciences Po Paris.

You cannot hide nor run from truth. Truth will come to you regardless, as inevitable as death.

[eretzyisrael]

by Ben Cohen Other cabinet ministers echoed the president. “What happened has a name: antisemitism,” Equality Minister Aurora Berge declared in a post on X/Twitter, while Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau asserted that at French universities, “[I]t is intolerable and shocking to suffer the slightest discrimination, the slightest incitement to hatred.” Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Paris region, also voiced her disgust, saying that “the Palestinian cause deserves better than these antisemitic barbs worthy of the worst hours of the history of France.” The Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF), whose members were confronted at the protest, said separately that “UEJF students are attacked as Jews and Zionists. We call for the immediate lifting of the blockade and exemplary sanctions against these students.” The management of Sciences Po meanwhile issued an official condemnation of the protest, pledging disciplinary action against “these intolerable acts.” An open letter published in the news outlet Le Figaro provided a platform to students opposed to the protest to express their anguish at “the painful phrase ‘Don’t let her in, she’s a Zionist.'” The letter stated: “Nothing in these words deserves its place in our school. No place in our democracy should accept them. These words are proof of absolute bankruptcy. The very meaning of our institution and our commitment as students has been chipped and in this space that has opened since [the Hamas pogrom of] Oct. 7 we do not want to let any monsters pass. These words go against who we are.”

There is alway condemnation, but there are never consequences.

[sissa-arrows]

Not a Zionist group lying about one of their members being kept out of a student reunion in Science Po Paris because she is Jewish… that she was told “You’re not getting in because you’re Jewish and Zionist”

The government jumped on it immediately calling pro Palestinians antisemitic monsters. Attal actually referred to the prosecutor in order to condemn legally the students for antisemitism.

The girl realized that her lie could have consequences on her own life if it was discovered so she changed her version saying “I actually didn’t hear the word Jewish or Zionist. A friend told me they might have heard someone else say “don’t let her in she is a Zionist”. I actually got in after the initial refusal but I didn’t stay long because the atmosphere was heavy. When I sat the person next to me moved to sit somewhere else I didn’t feel welcome.”

The truth getting out: Zionist students have been getting in these reunions to scream inappropriate stuff, to take pictures and videos of pro Palestinians students to dox them and threaten them and they make a point always screaming or talking loudly during the minutes of silence for the Palestinians who are murdered by “Israel” daily. That girl is a member of a known Zionist Islamophobic group who call everyone antisemitic all the fucking time. She previously came at reunions to take pictures and videos of the people attending. So when the student organizers saw her they told her “this reunion is meant to be peaceful it’s better if you don’t get in”.

Even now that we know the truth beyond any doubt the government is not backing down and the medias are still being super ambiguous about it.

But wanna know the icing on the cake? A pro Palestinian student went on TV to explain what happened. The journalist had the fucking audacity to say “okay but you were OCCUPYING the auditorium and you gave yourself the right to deny entry to certain people which is illegal”. Like REALLY a Zionist is going to have the fucking audacity to pretend to have the moral high ground on pro Palestinians because they “occupied” an auditorium?!?!?! You’re occupying a whole country a land that belongs to Palestinians so screw you.

(The student answered by saying it was the students duty to organize the reunion themselves after the school refused to do so multiple times and after the school refused to protect the pro Palestinians students who were harassed. Anyway that specific interview was a mess and this is the reason why I laugh at their faces whenever my family tells me I should get into politics… because if I had to go on TV and listen to the Zionists, white supremacists… I would end up punching one in the face. Like what do you mean bitch is going to be a racist piece of shit and I have to use only my words? No we’re past educating racists now it’s a punch in the face every time they are pieces of shit until they’re too scared to talk again.)

Edit to add some sources

Source 1 (paywall but you get how it started with a tweet lying about what happened)

Source 2 (the video of the pro Palestinians student I mentioned)

Source 3 (how the Zionist group went on TV to spread their lies)

Source 4 (the government jumping on the situation)

[lil-gingerbread-queen]

I'm losing my fucking mind.

In the last years, my university has been tagged multiple times with racist and neo-nazi symbols. The local of our union against racism and pro lgbtq+ was destroyed multiple times. Nothing was done, but a bit of paint to cover it up. No investigation. No punishment. And when I vocalised my discomfort, I was told it was nothing, just "immature young people trying to get attention".

Last year, the prefect of Paris authorized a Neo-Nazis' protest. Neo-Nazis walked in Paris, freely, as if it's not illegal to express racism or nazi rhetoric in this country. People weren't happy, so the prefete said it would not happen again.

Well, for the 21st of April, multiple protests against racism were organized all around France, and, they were not authorized by the authorities. The same prefect that let, a year ago, Neo-Nazis in the street of Paris, refused to let a protest against racism walk those same streets. He said "It's antisemitic. They support Palestine, they are antisemitic.". Yeah, take us for idiots, the protest against racism is going to be too antisemitic but not the Neo-Nazis you let walk around (and we know he would do it again).

And now, we have Sciences Po, one of the most reputable universities in our country, joining the movement the USAmerican students have started. The Sorbonne, another reputable university, followed. The French gov and media cried about it, called them "terrorists", "uneducated", "revolutionaries" (this one is crazy and really shows the fascism behind it all. We are in France, being revolutionary is NOT a bad thing in our culture. Wtf would you use "revolutionary" negatively in France, unless you are an oppressor?!!!) Students who are calling for the end of Genocide and just sitting on the ground! The cops were sent and dragged them out. For information, the cops CANNOT intervene in an university in France without the authorization of the president of this university. Not even the gov can make the cops enter an university, it's illegal. When students protest inside an university, people don't like seeing the cops being send after them. Two reasons: 1- students have often protest and help for the quality of life of everyone in French history, 2- WWII's trauma, Nazis stormed French universities because they were hiding Jews and resistants. Like, they are straight up acting like the Nazis, again. And the city of Paris wants to cut the budget they give to those two universities to punish them for not keeping their students in line. So, freedom of speech? GONE.

Students are protesting against a massacre, and they are calling them antisemitic. People standing against racism is antisemitic. But not the people branding Neo-Nazi symbols and chanting Neo-Nazi slogans. They don't move if you are branding a swastika, which is illegal, but will if you are branding Palestine's flag, which is not (yet). They let a political party founded with a SS go around and act nice, but the ones asking for the end of a massacre are the Nazis. Make sense.

So, I'm fucking pissed. I'm fucking pissed because I was told to "calm down" when I couldn't stand the antisemitism paint on my university, when I couldn't stand being friendly with the students that did or support that (because I did meet one). I was told to ignore antisemitism and I refused, and now, they call me antisemitic for standing with Palestinians?! How dare they when they tried to gaslight me so I would ignore the antisemitism in front of me?!

They don't care about jewish people! It's not about jewish people or the jewish faith, it's about white supremacy!

The people have already planned to protest during the Olympic Games, because the French gov is going full fascism lately (everyday, we wake up to more bs), and I hope with all my heart that we ruin the event at least (which would harm them financially), and at best, we get rid of the government and this 5th republic.

[allthegeopolitics]

Sciences Po University in Paris has rejected demands by pro-Palestine protesters to review its relations with Israeli universities, Reuters has reported. Interim director Jean Basseres’ announcement prompted some students to say that they would start a hunger strike in protest. Students at several French universities, including Sciences Po and the Sorbonne, have blocked or occupied their institutes over Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza, although not on the same scale as seen in the US. “I clearly refused to set up a working group on our relations with Israeli universities and partner companies,” Basseres told reporters after a town hall meeting with students and staff. Dozens of students promptly started a sit-in inside the university to protest at the decision.

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[almadesarrollo]

MLB SEASON 6 FELINETTE'S BIG TRACK IN JEREMY ZAG'S VIDEO (new Miraculous scenarios via Instagram) ANALYSIS AND FELINETTE CLUES FOR S6 PART 5 marinette's balcony : SHELVING

PART 4: THE CHAIR.

4 THE SHELF: LET'S TALK FIRST ABOUT WHAT'S ON IT AND THEN ABOUT THE DESIGN ITSELF.

-ELEMENTS: we see that there are books, this is a clue to Felix and Felinette, books and literature are the elements that define him, Adrien's Instagram gave clues to this a long time ago.

We have other clues like in the pandemic mini special we see Adrien reading.

which is a great reference for Félix, because remembering that Adrien was born from felix pv and the current Félix was born from Adrien, through Adrien himself they tell us a lot about FELIX.

and another is the startrain episode, where we see Bustier reading a book.

THIS TRAIN TAKES YOU TO LONDON, FELIX'S PLACE OF ORIGIN, (IN FACT, IF WE LOOK AT THAT SEQUENCE IN PARTICULAR, IT IS FELIGAMI TRACK, WE SEE KAGAMI THROUGH NATHANIEL, WHO IS MAKING A PORTRAIT OF THE PROFESSIONAL)

ALL OF THIS MAKES US UNDERSTAND that Félix likes to read, but not only that but he questions things a lot AND IS VERY INTELLIGENT. THIS LATTER IS CONFIRMED IN THE GLOOB WEBSODE.

And if we think about it carefully, the book represents knowledge, which would already tell us a little about him, that he is quite cultured and this aspect may appeal to Marnette quite a bit, she is very smart, so it wouldn't be serious. It's strange that in that area they get along quite a bit, they have that in common, they complement each other quite well, she is an artist completely in the arts and science/letters. Surely the series gives us moments like this fanart from S6 onwards.

Another thing that this is also telling us is that the place where they connect as something more than friends or are friends is the library, in the movie we see that the crush between Adrianette arises in the library, this is no coincidence, remember that the movie drinks from the PV and in the PV the boy was Félix, it seems that the library will be a very important place for Félix and felinette.

-DESIGN

This shelf is NAVY BLUE, whose color is this? aja from SASS and what concept does SASS represent? THE 2nd chance, THEN THE CLUE IS CLEAR, Felix will be the 2nd chance for Marinette after all her friends turn their backs on her, after she breaks up her relationship with Adrien, because it will be unfair for her, everyone is going to fail her, everything but Félix, he will be her best friend and she will feel that she will be able to trust someone again after everyone fails her, and she is left completely alone just as we have been predicting.

A shelf serves as a support to put things, mostly books, this is a clear reference to Félix and the library, we have already said that the library would be the place where their friendship would arise and where they would connect for the first time, right? Let's see what THE SEQUENCE OF THE MOVIE and ITS DIALOGUES TELL US.

----------------------------------------------

To begin with, Marinette is running away from Chloe, because she is harassing her, this confirms the enmity between Kagami and Marinette, their friendship will be broken, remember that through Chloe we are told about Kagami,

[here is a diagram]

but also, let's look at the dialogues that follow,

This would be confirming to us that because of Kagami she will have to leave Paris, change completely, and hide at all levels, because she will reveal her identity. This sequence confirms what we said in the previous post, Kagami will ruin Marinette's life by revealing her identity to the world and she will have to flee, now we see how she begs for a little luck with her hands almost praying, what is the most popular place? connects with the concept of faith and religion in France?, the cathedral of Notre Dame, is a church, IF YOU READ MY POST, the cathedral is LOCATION Felinette, that is where they will meet as superheroes, the movie gives the clue through from the ladynoir on Adrien's side, so this would give us the clue that with all the chaos at one point she will pray in the cathedral and ask God for a second chance to do things right or simply more luck, the answer will come to his destination Félix, a 2nd chance, we confirm this with the following sequence.

Here I leave you a link where we talk about the cathedral and its importance in felinette. IT IS ALSO NAVY BLUE!!!!

coincidentally, Adrien appears clutching a book AND AS WE SAID THIS IS A REPRESENTATION OF FELIX, SO SHE PRAYES AND FELIX APPEARS "LIKE AN ANGEL"!!! Notice that Adrien is giving him the light, this is also a reference to Felix's purity, he is always surrounded by light, as if he were someone pure, a pure soul, which will help him both in his civil and heroic form (Argos) Félix's presence and help will be healing.

Now Marinette talks about pollen and allergies, here we have a reference to Pollen, the bee kwami ​​and Zoé/Vesperia, confirming that Zoé is clearly a reference to this new Marinette, but this could also mean that the miraculous that Marinette wears is the one with the bee, as a camouflage, we saw this in optigami.

optigami is a play on words between the Spanish word OPTIMO and kagami's name, OPTIMUM MEANS unsurpassed, incredible etc...which if we put everything together it would be telling us that "kagami is unbeatable" well she will be GREAT as a friend and heroine, BUT LET'S GO FURTHER, IN THIS CHAPTER ALYA IS THE CAUSE OF MARINETTE'S BIG PROBLEMS.

Thanks to her decisions, Marinette's identity is once again put in danger and it is almost discovered, but it does not come to this because Marinette realizes the trap, after this, Marinette gives the miraculous to Alya in a FIXED way. , as we know from now on THERE ARE A LOT OF MOVES.

the threat of the monarch knowing his identity and therefore also his life in danger,

her betrayal because in the end she tells the truth to Nino when she should have kept the secret of her camouflage ETC... through the trust that Marinette takes in Alya from optigami, all of them are practically problems that put her identity at risk. Based on this, we can see what the mistake will be, trusting Kagami too much so that at the last moment she betrays her, how? Well, that is a topic for another post, BUT THE MISTAKE SHE COMMITTED WILL LEAD TO HER IDENTITY BEING REVEALED AND THAT IS WHERE SHE WILL MAKE THE DECISION TO BE A HEROINE WITH ANOTHER MIRACULOUS, POLLEN.

Then we see how Marinette spies on him through the books, here it could be a reference to Argos watching and taking care of Marinette from the shadows, because on that path Marinette removes two books of her colors, then immediately she lands on the shopping cart. books, captivated by Adrien's presence.

The cart is used by librarians, it would not be strange for Felix to work in a library being such a lover of reading, or it could be that Mari decides to work in the library whatever it may be, Marinette is going to see the sky when Felix approaches her. It helps by making you connect with him.

We see that when she falls with the cart, a lot of books fall on her, so this is a wake-up call from Felix, and that the series tells us that THE WAY IN WHICH HE WILL PROTECT HER, WILL BE LIKE CHATNOIR BECAUSE FOLLOWING THIS SHE PROTECTS HERSELF WITH A BOOK FROM LE CHATNOIR, the series with this tells you "look, look, chatnoir (Felix) protects Marinette!!! that's why a lot of books fall.

We also have to remember that the drawing of Chatnoir is the drawing that refers to the cafeteria that is next to Marinette's bakery, where he would work, so we confirmed the ladynoir with Chatnoir as Félix.

Then we see how she stops being scared, and we see that he offers to help her, there they connect.

This is basically that the crush between both of them, Felix and Marinette, will occur when he offers to help her, as we say again, he will be salvation in her aid, he will be her support, he will be her assistant, he will be her right hand, the movie itself confirm this:

and that will make her fall in love with him.

NOW THIS IS could be the library or the cathedral itself since the background that surrounds Adrien and the lights that give him resemble a stained glass window like the cathedral.

Now we see Marinette hallucinating and looking at her hand, this could be a clue that Marinette thought she would never have a chance to fall in love again, we have said that Marinette after everything she will experience with Adrien will stop believing in love love , then Félix arrives to prove the opposite, because he has a crush again, she without being able to believe it, life gives Félix a second chance at love...and this crush will be more intense...this will be from S6 ONWARDS.

We see that he disappears after this, this is a reference to how mysterious and silent Felix is, clearly many times Marinette will be protected by Felix/argos/chatnoir but she won't even know it because he will keep an eye on her hidden, so that she is safe, for For example, when you return home at night alone...

SUMMARY S6: WE WILL SEE LADYBEE AFTER THE REVELATION OF MARINETTE'S IDENTITY, THE LIBRARY OR CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME WILL BE KEY IN FELINETTE'S DEVELOPMENT, THIS IS WHERE THEY WILL CONNECT, AS FRIENDS AND SOMETHING MORE, MARINETTE WILL FALL IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT TWICE AND HE WILL BELIEVE IN LOVE, FÉLIX'S ASSISTANCE, HIS INTELLIGENCE, HOW CULTIVATED HE IS AND OTHERS WILL HELP IN THAT PROCESS, THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE MANY THINGS WHY MARINETTE WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM, THE OTHER IS HOW PROTECTIVE HE WILL BE WITH HER. ...

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See you in future posts.

[a-room-of-my-own]

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/palestine/sciences-po-paris-il-n-y-a-pas-eu-de-propos-antisemites-assure-une-membre-du-comite-sciences-po-pour-la-palestine_6424267.html

😭😭😭 Ça y est y a une Tumblrina à la télé

[mariacallous]

As tensions over the government’s pension reform continue to run high in France, the country’s security forces are being accused of trampling on basic human rights in their handling of mass demonstrations that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to the streets on an almost weekly basis.

Watchdogs in France and abroad, including Amnesty International and the Council of Europe, are sounding the alarm about an “excessive use of force” by French riot police during the protests, which began in January and are still ongoing, despite losing some steam after the wildly unpopular bill was signed into law earlier this month. France is the homeland of equality, liberty, and fraternity—but not all of its riot police have read the Declaration of the Rights of Man. In recent decades, French police tactics have grown more heavy-handed than elsewhere in Europe, and that matters, because French law enforcement practices extend well beyond France, which trains the security forces of dozens of countries around the world, both democratic and authoritarian.

Members of the Parisian Observatory of Public Freedoms, who have been monitoring the rallies in the French capital from the ground, painted a bleak picture of unwarranted police charges aimed at “terrorizing” protesters, widespread physical and verbal abuse of demonstrators, and indiscriminate use of weapons such as crowd dispersal grenades and rubber bullets. 

There has been “a lot of unjustified tear gassing and bludgeoning,” they said, asking not to be identified by name.

Other European riot police can play hardball, too. Spaniards wreaked havoc with Catalan protesters. Italians beat scores of demonstrators to a pulp at the Genoa G-8 protests in 2001. 

But in recent years, French police have been playing in a different league from everyone else. The country has seen multiple waves of tense demonstrations over workers’ rights, as well as months of unrest beginning in 2018 caused by the “yellow vest” movement against taxes and economic inequality. But many argue that the way French police deal with demonstrators is making things worse. The French approach, which entails a gradual increase in the use of force in response to the level of resistance by protesters, is effectively “an escalation doctrine,” said Sebastian Roché, an expert on policing at Sciences Po university in Grenoble. 

French police are more heavily armed than their colleagues elsewhere in Europe. The LBDs, or riot guns firing rubber bullets that can cause severe injuries or even death, are hardly ever seen in Britain or Germany, while they are used extensively—and often without warning—in France. Those weapons are a big part of the reason French riot police injure and kill more than anywhere else in Europe, said Roché, with 36 people severely mutilated at demonstrations since 2018 and three killed in the last 10 years. 

French police have also come under heavy criticism for surrounding and holding up entire groups of protesters, including peaceful ones, as part of their efforts to restore public order. These “fish traps” often end with scores of detentions, but most are then released within a few hours without any charges—a sign, critics say, that they should have never been taken into custody in the first place. On March 16, some 300 people were detained in Paris alone, but only nine ended up facing judicial proceedings. 

This kind of practice “discourages people from participating in the demonstrations,” said Simon Foreman, of France’s National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. “We have forgotten that the police are a public service that is there to protect the exercise of freedoms, which means protecting demonstrators. Instead, in the French version of maintaining public order, the crowds are seen as hostile, almost as enemies,” he said.

Critics say this attitude is encouraged from the top. Last month, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned that “taking part in an unauthorized demonstration is a crime that justifies being detained,” a statement that many have criticized, since it is incorrect. But violence has come from the demonstrators’ ranks, too, with many episodes of vandalism and attacks on the security forces. About 1,000 cops were injured in the second half of March alone, according to the Interior Ministry. 

Police say they are using the minimum force required to restore order. “The vast majority of the public does not want people to be allowed to smash everything up with impunity, with the French taxpayer having to foot the bill,” said Johann Cavallero of Alliance Police Nationale, a police union.

But France doesn’t just have a problem with protests. Over the past six years, the country has been condemned five times by the European Court of Human Rights over physical abuses committed in other situations by its police, which tend to be less popular than the European average—and much less trusted than their German, British, and Nordic counterparts.

French cops could be brutal in the past, too. In the early 1960s, officers on the orders of Paris police head Maurice Papon massacred dozens (if not hundreds) of peaceful Algerian demonstrators, throwing many of them into the Seine. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, France went through a period of low-intensity protests and lower-intensity policing. That changed with the 2005 riots in the country’s deprived banlieues, said Roché. The use of the LBDs became commonplace, and at demonstrations police began chasing troublemakers, even in the middle of the crowds and at the risk of exacerbating tensions with other protesters, too.

In other countries, they just don’t do it that way, even when there are riots in major cities or yobos on the loose. In countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, police give warnings and provide key information to protesters by means of large screens and liaison officers. In Spain, the creation of a mediation department made up of police officers trained in sociology and psychology contributed to a 70 percent decline in the number of incidents at rallies between 2011 and 2014. The spread of a de-escalation culture on the continent was also helped by an EU-funded project that saw 20 organizations from 11 European countries come together in the early 2010s to hammer out new ways to reduce tensions between protesters and the police. 

France did not participate. 

To be sure, while French security forces are more heavy-handed than many of their Western counterparts, France remains far from a police state. Several days of mobilization against the pension reform saw the participation of more than 1 million protesters, with most rallies unfolding without major incidents. Even when clashes do break out, the crackdown is a far cry from the military-style equipment that is typically deployed on similar occasions in the United States. And the number of casualties among protesters, while high by European standards, pales compared to the death tolls reported on the other side of the Atlantic. Cops in Toulouse don’t have tanks; in Topeka, they kind of do.

Yet, with the confidence of many French people in the democratic process shaken by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force through his embattled pension reform without a vote in Parliament, the strong-arm tactics adopted by the security forces are reinforcing the feeling of an authoritarian slide. 

With another round of nationwide rallies planned for May 1, tensions in the country’s streets are likely far from over. “Sometimes, demonstrations become a release valve for people’s anger against the state,” said Cavallero, of the police union. “Unfortunately, those who are there representing the state are the police,” he said.