FACTORS AND TRIGGERS OF MODERN TERRORISM: REFLECTIONS ON THE EXAMPLE OF EVENTS IN FRANCE

В последние два десятилетия Франция стала страной западного мира, где происходит, пожалуй, наибольшее количество актов индивидуального террора, который связан с мусульманской миграцией и часто выступает под религиозными лозунгами. Очерчивая общие причины современного терроризма, автор сосредотачивается на анализе причин и триггерах, прямых ситуационных факторах, провоцирующих терроризм в современной Франции. В качестве основной причины называется недостаточная, неэффективная интеграция мигрантов, у которых, как следствие складывается кризисная идентичность, ранимость и повышенная реактивность на некоторые категории событий, которые представляются оскорблением. In the past two decades, France has become a country in the Western world with perhaps the largest number of acts of individual terror associated with Muslim migration and often carried out under religious slogans. Outlining the common causes of modern terrorism, the author focuses on the analysis of the causes and triggers of the ethno-cultural order, direct situational factors provoking terrorism in modern France. The main reason is the insufficient, ineffective integration of migrants, who, as a result, develop a crisis identity, vulnerability and increased reactivity to some categories of events that seem to be an insult.

The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Political Situation in France before 2022 Elections

The article explores the political situation in modern France the year before the next presidential election. It is revealed that during Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, a social divide between wealthy and poor social groups has taken root in the country manifested in the “yellow vests” movement and a wide-range public disagreement with the reforms proposed by the government. The negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which overlapped with the previous contradictions and aggravated them, is discussed. The article also shows that, apart from the “National Rally”, no other political forces now represent a real opposition to Macron’s policy, thus helping him to keep relatively high chances for re-election. This is especially true in case of two traditional parties – the Republicans and the Socialists – which have suffered from a profound internal crisis. In conclusion, regarding a likely contest between Macron and Le Pen in 2022, prospects of changes in domestic and foreign policy of France after the election are formulated. The author concludes that even in the “Le Pen wins” scenario, any innovations will have a limited impact, taking into account the role of continuity in the French state policy and the growing moderation of the far right platform.

Custom, Law, and Monarchy

Ancien régime France did not have a unified law. Legal relations of the people were governed by a disorganized amalgam of norms, including provincial and local customs (coutumes), elements of Roman law and canon law that together formed jus commune, royal edicts and ordinances, and judicial decisions, all coexisting with little apparent internal coherence. The multiplicity of laws and the fragmentation of jurisdiction were the defining features of the monarchical era. A key subject in European legal history is the metamorphosis of popular customs into customary law, which covered a broad spectrum of what we call today private law. This book sets forth the evolution of law in late medieval and early modern France, from the thirteenth through the end of the eighteenth century, with particular emphasis on the royal campaigns to record and reform customs in the sixteenth century. The codification of customs in the name of the king solidified the legislative authority of the crown, the essential element of the absolute monarchy. Achievements of French legal humanism brought French custom and Roman law together to lay the foundation for the French law. The Civil Code of 1804 was the culmination of these centuries of work. Juristic, political, and constitutional approaches to the early modern state allow an understanding of French history in a continuum.

Conclusion

Legal reforms in early modern France marked a confluence of the crown’s judicial and legislative agenda, aimed at achieving what can be called in modern times judicial economy. They attested to the old-fashioned idea that the law, reinforced by royal authority, afforded better protection for the less-than-mighty subjects. Success in making the kingdom’s laws more systematic and equitable vindicates an important aspect of the meaning that historians and theorists have attached to the idea of a monarchie absolue. Early modern legal history has shown that a robust expression of sovereignty was intrinsically tied with the control of the sources of law. The historical forces behind the French law, long in the making, shed critical light on European legal tradition and jus commune.

Introduction

Historiography of early modern France has of late taken a definite social and cultural turn as scholars shied away from political and intellectual history. While the value of illuminating social life and practices is undisputable, examination of the sources of law, including legal texts and juristic writings, and of the role of the political authorities in creating the state legal hierarchy is indispensable before a theorization of interaction between law and society can be envisaged. How the legal system comprising various sources of law in early modern France functioned to meet the changing needs of society and also the growing institutional demands of the state presents an important question to historians and jurists alike. History of custom as law articulates the concept of custom and its relationship to royal sovereignty and provides a clear path to our understanding of the absolute monarchy. Literature on custom is now large enough that the literature itself is a proper subject of research.