France's sociopolitical & economic crises: 'Large portion of population sympathizes' with protestors

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 06:40 Issued on: 20/10/2026 - 15:32 Genie Godula is pleased to welcome Damien Leconte, Political Scientist and Researcher at Paris Panthéon Sorbonne University. France’s escalating unrest has exposed a profound contradiction in the state’s response: disproportionate force against peaceful demonstrators on the one hand, and an apparent inability to contain widespread violence on the other. Political scientist Damien Leconte argues that the government’s failure extends beyond policing to the political interpretation of the crisis itself. As competing narratives threaten to overshadow legitimate grievances over education, public services and the cost of living, he warns that “the repressive response […] is not going to make the social crisis disappear.” With presidential elections approaching, the struggle to restore order is becoming inseparable from a deeper contest over political legitimacy, public liberties and...