Why is violence against elected politicians increasing?

This Tuesday, during a trip to Tain-l’Hermitage, in the Drôme, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron was slapped by a man present in the crowd. A gesture condemned by the entire political class, and which seems to be the paroxysm of a rise in violence against elected politicians.

In 2020, attacks and threats against elected officials had increased by 200% compared to 2019: 1,276 attacks, insults and threats were recorded over the year, according to France Info. Admittedly, the municipal elections, which put the mayors particularly in the foreground, may have played a role in this increase, but they are not sufficient to explain such an increase. Why this rise in violence?

Unpopularity and disrespect

The most obvious cause, the unpopularity and the growing disenchantment with elected politicians. According to a Cevipof survey from February 2021, when we ask the French about the feeling they have with regard to politics, it is “mistrust” (39%) and “disgust” (23%) that come first. In total, 77% of French people answer a negative word to this question, against only 20% a positive word.

“Politics is one of the professions most hated by the French. Not just unloved, hated. This hatred inevitably leads to actions taken, especially since we are in a difficult period when we are looking for the culprits, ”analyzes Daniel Boy, director of research at Sciences-Po and specialist in French political life. Unemployment, health crisis, increase in depression, social distress… The context is necessarily tense.

This is why, according to the researcher, mayors are the most frequently targeted. Active in the life of their municipality, “they are seen as directly responsible for the actions carried out, and are therefore more exposed”, he explains.

But this deep disenchantment cannot suffice as an explanation. Added to this is a loss of respect for elected officials. “There is a desacralization of the function and a weakening of political institutions. This phenomenon happens quite cyclically, as in the 1930s, and we are right in the middle of it now, ”explains Benjamin Morel, doctor of political science.

In search of the sacred

The causes for this are multiple, and sometimes surprising. For Daniel Boy, the better level of education in the country may partly explain this disrespect: “The more education people have, the more they question power and authority, which they consider illegitimate. This lack of consideration of the people for the policies would also come from the lack of consideration of the policies among them. “There is a major crisis in the public debate, where the various elected officials do not respect each other, abuse each other, yell at each other, cut each other off… The elected officials no longer respect the function of others, which makes them lose their consideration. function in general, ”adds the Sciences-Po research director.

There is also what the politician does with his own function and how he treats it. What if he himself participated in his own desacralization? To take the example of Emmanuel Macron, Benjamin Morel quotes the video he made with the humorous YouTubers Mcfly and Carlito: “When Emmanuel Macron has fun with them, he appears sympathetic but he dilutes the charisma of his function. . He ceases to embody the function and the State and it is easier to attack a man than a function ”.

Attack the representative more than the state

Last point, French politics suffers from a representation crisis, with people no longer feeling properly represented. As a result, it is people, and not institutions or politics as a whole, who become responsible for what is wrong. Benjamin Morel cites the demonstrations of “yellow vests” as an illustration of this shift towards the personal target: “Before, when, for example, farmers demonstrated, they dumped liquid manure in front of the prefecture of their communes. It was the institution that was the target of their anger. With the demonstrations of “yellow vests”, we have seen the same phenomenon, but in front of the private homes of deputies. It is a questioning not of the State but of its “confiscation” and of the problem of representativeness in it. “

The figures for 2020, on the general increase in attacks against elected officials, strongly pointed to the personal character of these threats: more than 500 mayors or deputies and 60 parliamentarians had been physically attacked, 68 elected officials’ homes and 63 private vehicles. were targeted during the year. Not only is the anger rumbling, it has become personal.