“Parents are sometimes afraid of their own child”: the analysis of criminologist Alain Bauer after Gabriel Attal’s announcements on authority

Alain Bauer : “Une “rageosphère” intense sur les réseaux”. MAXPPP – Jérôme Fouquet

This professor of criminology at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts is the author of the works “You will not kill” and “At the end of the investigation”, published by Fayard and First. He gives us his analysis in connection with Gabriel Attal's announcements on Thursday, who wishes to place "authority at the heart of the Republic".

Are we witnessing a trivialization of violence among young people ?

The cumulative phenomenon is naturally moving, especially because of the lethality of these actions. It is indisputable that they mark a degradation comparable to that experienced in the rest of society.

The most reliable indicator of the level of violence in a society, the number of homicides, has suffered a collapse for centuries: the lowest point has been reached in 2012, to less than 700, but rises to more than 1,000 in 2023 and even 5,000, the highest historical level, including attempts.

There is therefore a general deterioration, among young people as in the rest of society.

Is this violence clearly increasing ?

Over five centuries, in times of peace, we went from 150 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants to less than one.

But there has been a sharp increase in homicides (homicides and attempts) over the past ten years. If the cycles vary, the one we are experiencing shows a real degradation.

Do social networks contribute to this evolution??

Indisputably, “trolls” have overwhelmed the internet and social networks, creating a “rageosphere” intense, their effects going beyond the already deeply rooted school bullying.

Addiction to networks and the power of devices for spreading hatred online largely contribute to the deterioration of relationships and above all to the permanence of online attacks, which pursue victims outside establishments, contributing to a endless spiral of violence.

Should we legislate on social networks and decide, for example, to eliminate anonymity?

In any case, it seems essential to create a digital identity associated with civil status, which imposes accountability on the perpetrators of insults and threats.

It is necessary to establish a digital highway code, to allow everyone to travel safely and securely. And undoubtedly also to reduce the intensity of addiction to tools.

Are parents also largely responsible, as the Minister of Justice says ?

They are by nature. But in many cases, they are more “licensed” than resigned. They are sometimes even afraid of their own child. If sanction is sometimes necessary, educational assistance seems more adequate.

Social practices have evolved significantly over time, often transforming parents into consumers of school and causing associated effects in the relationship with the educational institution.

What responsibility does communitarianism have in the behavior of young people ?

France is a curious country, where the State created the nation and provides its backbone, unlike federalized nations, which have adopted a common structure. Any weakening of the central State and its integrative tools causes powerful perverse effects.

Considering secularism as self-evident, no longer knowing whether the country chooses integration or differentialism, the process of acceptance of the common framework begins. rsquo;is weakened and communities have asserted themselves, replacing the vacuum left by the State.

Is juvenile justice in line with reality ?

More than we say. But between nothing and too much, she has the greatest difficulty reacting quickly and adapting. Corseted by the legislator, who makes the law, and by jurisprudence born against the police excesses of the time, the system is outdated. It is slow but it punishes younger and younger perpetrators harder and harder.

I subscribe to read more