“Anti-cop” violence: state management and (de)legitimization. The Yellow Vests case

In recent years, violence against the forces of law and order has given rise to cross-cutting strategies of scandalization, particularly during large-scale social movements involving clashes between police and demonstrators. Based on a survey conducted at the TGI de Paris and a study of sixty-seven cases involving offences against public officials (contempt, rebellion, violence), this article looks at the demonstrative use of force against the police and gendarmerie during the Gilets jaunes movement. It analyzes both the conditions of “anti-cop” acts during the various Paris acts, their (de)legitimization and repression, as well as, by focusing on all the repressive stages - arrest, police custody, trial – on the interactions between Gilets jaunes and law enforcement officers during each of them.