President Macron’s 26-year-old “senior security aide”
– whatever that may be – was filmed violently
abusing demonstrators in Paris. For 2½ months Macron’s office apparently tried
to cover it up. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful.
Lawyers can do wonders, and it remains to be seen if
and how they seek to make it all end as fireless smoke.
And yet, whether this man will be found guilty or not
is not the main issue. Deriving satisfaction and even pleasure from exercising
violence is – as we have learnt over history – much more common than we would
like to think and most of us like to have. Law enforcers can often do so
with the formal or informal backing of their colleagues.
France is not alone. Despite our commitment to human
rights and to the rule of law, we are regularly confronted with the ugly face
of supposedly lawful aggression by agents of the state. This is going to become
an even more pressing issue, as our countries are moving right.
