Ensauvagement

[Beckett]

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique/jean-castex/gouvernement-de-jean-castex/ensauvagement-de-la-societe-gerald-darmanin-a-tout-a-fait-raison-d-utiliser-ce-terme-estime-marlene-schiappa_4090155.html

Savagery is certainly an accurate description of people beating a bus driver because he challenged them about masks - so why the uproar? My French isn't good enough to pick up the nuances of the word; I suspect, however, there's a suggestion of racism.

[Just a Frenchie]

What is sad in our society today is that we give more importance to words than to facts. The facts, if accurately described, cannot be denied. For words, we can always dispute them because the same word sometimes has several official definitions or will be understood differently by several people. Words are often viciously manipulated to assert an ideology or to put a person (or a group of people) into a category. So there may be a few racist acts perpetrated by a few police officers, but the media talk about "racism in the police" and many people understand that ALL police officers ARE racist ... If you look at the definition of "sauvage"on the internet, you will find several definitions. "Ensauvagement" is to become a "sauvage" (wild ?), but what definition of "sauvage" are we talking about ? I think for Darmanin a "sauvage" is someone who refuses to obey the laws of society. The "ensauvagement" of society is therefore the fact that certain groups of people no longer respect French laws. That is, IMO, exactly what is happening. As the head of all the police forces, Darmanin cannot do much, because our police officers are doing their job. On the other hand, justice is too slow and too soft. For example, no criminal receiving a sentence of less than 2 years in prison will go behind bars, especially because there is not enough room in jails. Someone sentenced to 18 years will be automatically released after 6 years, etc. So potential criminals know they are unlikely to be really punished ! This is why the Minister of Justice Dupont-Moretti does not accept the term "ensauvagement". He prefers to say "a feeling of insecurity" to more lightly describe the sad reality. By using the term "feeling" he tries to make people understand that there is no real insecurity but only a feeling ... Vicious, isn't it ? The police face the actions of offenders. Justice manipulates words ... The President does not want to do anything because he fears a revolution in the suburbs of big cities (it nearly happened in 2005) and, moreover, by the Constitution, Justice does not depend on him ... Poor France !

[NormanH]

https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2020/09/03/l-ensauvagement-un-mot-a-l-histoire-sinueuse-surtout-utilise-par-l-extreme-droite_6050851_4355770.html

[Beckett]

Interesting, JaF and Norman (thanks for the link)!

[Just a Frenchie]

Thank you Norman for this link. No surprise: Le Monde, a left-wing newspaper, says that the "word" (ensauvagement) comes from the extreme right ... So, it's "racist" ... So, it's "wrong". .. But, as I said, they distract public opinion from the real issues (the facts) by arguing about words. And journalists feast on these quarrels over words that make it possible to gain an audience ... I'm quite sure that the members here live in quiet places: it's good for them ! I lived a few years north of Paris (department 93) and I was able to see the facts in places where the laws of the republic are refused and where the cops do not even dare to patrol. It was a long time ago and I am happy to now live in the countryside ! An interesting media to appreciate the facts and nothing but the facts on a daily basis: https://actu17.fr/ (this is a media created by the police)

[NormanH]

But there is also this view as I mentioned in another thread..

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/03/french-reporter-who-joined-police-exposes-racism-and-violence-valentin-gendrot

I live in a quartier populaire in a difficult town (Béziers)  so  I am aware of the social problems at first-hand...

I also think that the language used is important as it serves to create a 'narrative' or 'story' to interpret the bare facts and manipulate  those reading or hearing the words.

For example different groups of people might  have referred to Nelson Mandela as a 'Communist terrorist' or a 'nationalist freedom-fighter'.

The facts about his actions remain the same, but the language interprets them differently.