A public slap in the face to the head of state is, of course, strong. This has not happened for a long time. Whistle - whistled, shouted nasty things, but it had not yet come to assault. Of course, things could have gone differently if the president hadn't improvised. He asked to stop the motorcade to talk with local residents in the Drome department. I ran out to meet them - young, handsome, in a snow-white shirt. And here - on you! - got a slap on the cheek. Some journalists later argued that the guy did not reach, that his hand was stopped by the guards. But that's not the point. It is interesting to delve into the reasons here. What is happening in French society that such a trick has matured in the head, and even turned out to be quite feasible? There are probably many reasons. One of them, oddly enough, was political correctness, which shut off the valve that released intellectual steam.
It will seem illogical, but if you look at all kinds of debates, you get the full feeling that it is no longer possible to discuss acute and controversial topics calmly. There will certainly be a certain minority that will be hurt, whose feelings will be offended, hurt, hurt, and so on. All this, very likely, will be blown up into a big scandal that will hit the reputation: then you have to make excuses, apologize. Why such happiness is necessary? Therefore, nowadays politicians select every word carefully, trying to smooth out all the sharp corners. As a result, the discussion floats and you get a refined semblance of a debate. They have forgotten how to speak directly, hence the feeling that problems are hushed up, they are not spoken about aloud. And emotions are boiling! So they move into the physical plane, since there is no other format for expressing them: when there are no words, fists are used.
At the same time, with the arrival of Macron, the usual structure of the political elite broke down. There used to be the right, there were the left with their own clear and precise idea. And now everything is jumbled up. The right is in search of a new leader, some have gone over to the Marine Le Pen National Rally, while others have supported the Macron movement. Among the leftists, too, someone glances towards Le Pen, while someone rushes to the other extreme, goes from party to party. Behind all of them there are no longer those powerful political ideas and thoughts, ideals for which people were ready to go out and fight. Discontent and political personalities remained, hence the fixation on the personality - it is the personality that turns into the object of hatred. Furious, directed, personal hatred. Previously, a person was called an opponent, but now - an enemy. And now all means are good to fight the enemy. No boundaries, no limitsno more taboo.
Take, for example, the video that the blogger Papacito filmed in response to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's remark that in the last week before the presidential elections in the country there will be a murder or something terrible that will make you point the finger at Muslims and will trigger a civil war. ... He spoke about the growth of violence in society, cruelty, aggression and pointed out that resonant terrorist attacks / attacks had already happened in 2012, and in 2015 and in 2016. As a response, they recorded a video where a stuffed animal of his supporter was asked to check for readiness for such an attack. The dummy is shot with a gun, then, with a frenzy, many times a huge knife is thrust into the abdomen. From one viewing of the hair on end. Game, horror, abomination - and more than 100 thousand views in a few hours. Followed by Melanchon's demands to remove content,but the video is still easy to find on the net.
There are no moral boundaries, no prohibitions, now everything is possible. And this is all almost unpunished. This is what a policeman in the south of France told me when he talked about killing a colleague in Avignon in broad daylight. He was shot by a young guy, a drug dealer, simply because he was a law enforcement officer. The offender, of course, was caught and imprisoned, there will be a show trial. But even if everyone is overfished, there will simply not be enough places in prisons. Therefore, often, having received another term, they serve it on probation or leave ahead of schedule. And then these people commit a new crime - this has happened more than once in the last month. The husband wounded him with a pistol, and then burned his ex-wife and the mother of his children alive right on the street. The schizophrenic who went to kill police officers near Nantes also recently got out of prison. Now the sanitary crisis has exacerbated the situation.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen even sent an urgent telegram to all prefects warning of a sharp increase in violence in the past five months. To make it clear: the country has been in quarantine for almost two years with all sorts of restrictions and a curfew.
At one time, they were not allowed out into the street at all. Almost everything was closed: no restaurants, bars, no meetings, work from home. People went crazy, hence the surge in domestic violence: in the first five months of this year alone, there was a 20% increase due to murders and attempts to commit them. The number of attacks on law enforcement officers, firefighters, rescuers, doctors increased by 28%, dangerous individuals aged 24 to 57 became more active (+ 137%). So a slap in the face, it seems to me, falls on the same canvas, reflects the ongoing transformations in society. Restraint, respect, tolerance have disappeared somewhere. People are like bare wires that start to spark at the first light breeze.
Stories happened to other presidents too. Jacques Chirac von was even shot on the Champs Elysees in 2002, two months after the elections. The assassination attempt took place during the Bastille Day parade. The offender missed and was immediately disarmed by passers-by. François Hollande was sprinkled with flour when he was still a candidate for the post of head of state. President Nicolas Sarkozy was grabbed by the collar. But so publicly, relishing to slap in the face is, of course, beyond the bounds. You can treat the politician as you like, but not stoop to slaps in the face, for which, moreover, they can solder three years and a fine of € 45 thousand. It is not for nothing that all politicians as one expressed solidarity with Macron: each presented himself in his place. And he himself tried to bring the incident to nothing, continued to shake hands, take pictures and urged everyone to calm down,and express your disagreement at the polling stations. Fortunately, the elections are very soon. In a week and a half - regional, and next year, and presidential.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board