Andrew Smith warns that policing, political blame are no substitute for social reform & public trust

Home France To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: © France 24 13:02 Issued on: 24/10/2026 - 15:09 “You can't police yourself into social cohesion. You can't police yourself into a political future,” explains Andrew Smith, historian of modern France at Queen Mary University of London. He identifies a central paradox confronting the French Republic: the state may possess the means to impose public order, yet lack the political capacity to address the demands and grievances driving mass mobilisation. Smith examines the tensions between social protest, presidential authority and democratic legitimacy amid renewed unrest in France: “500,000 people on the streets of France doesn't happen by chance.” Keywords for this article Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France Video content Video France