Eric Ciotti, a proponent of a liberal-authoritarian society, expressed himself with martial rhetoric: “Islamic State has declared war on us. The threat both outside and inside our country is still extremely strong.”
This overarching view of the State should not hide the demagoguery that implies:
“The abolition of the state of emergency by Emmanuel Macron last November 1st was a mistake and a fault.”
In taking this step, instead of punishing justly and exemplarily the one who commits the crime (and yes, in a state of law, we punish the act and not the person!), we will arrive at the application of the criminologist Cesare Lombroso’s theory (author in 1876 of ‘The Criminal Man’) for whom there were born criminals detected through physiognomy.
As after each terrorist attack, the controversy is growing, and among politicians, some are getting heated. The issue: the infamous S-files. We are witnessing a security one-upmanship regarding what should be done with those suspected of radicalization listed in this file.
Unsurprisingly, Marine Le Pen is at the forefront of the topic, demanding the expulsion of foreign S-files and the revocation of nationality for dual nationals. Denouncing Emmanuel Macron’s “guilty naivety,” Laurent Wauquiez advocates for the reestablishment of the state of emergency, the administrative detention of the most dangerous S-files, and the expulsion of foreigners found in this file.
But Manuel Valls has also stepped into the fray, expressing his support for administrative detention for certain S-files and wishing to ban Salafism.
Certainly, the country is no longer under a state of emergency, which was not renewed last November, but some of the measures allowed by this exceptional status have been made permanent in common law with the most recent law on internal security and counter-terrorism.
Should we go further? Perhaps. It is, in any case, normal to question what could be improved to enhance security against terrorists, but the important thing is to focus on what is feasible while remaining in conformity with the rule of law.
Not to indulge in a sort of demagogic Lรฉpine competition concerning security measures.
