World View | Riots, Cheese and the Pursuit of Liberty

CISO Paul Raines on what American security can learn from the French

April 30, 2008 — It's been said that the difference between France and America is that in France the government is afraid of the people and in America the people are afraid of the government. I have to say that just having spent a week negotiating the myriad of rotaries on the highways of France; I'm scared of French people too&mdashespecially if they're driving a car. I got cut off more times than a mouldy crust of bread. For a country that makes 365 different kinds of cheese you'd think they could invest a little more time in learning to drive!

In France there is no visible highway patrol. There are gendarmes in the larger cities, call boxes on the sides of the roads for emergencies and occasionally you will see a speed camera, but for the most part the French take care of themselves on the road. It seems the road belongs to the people with the junkiest cars and the most insurance.

The same goes for security in French cities. The police presence is not nearly as great in France as it is in America. That surprises me because of the numerous news clips I've seen in the recent past showing riots and protests in the streets of France. Judging from the news you'd think French citizens walked around with a collective chip on their shoulders, just itching for the opportunity for the government to knock it off so that they can take to the streets&mdashpreferably in springtime, of course, and with a nice bottle of wine and a plate of cheese. Seriously, though, I asked several of my French friends about this and they say that in France it's considered a citizen's responsibility that if they don't like something then they should take to the streets to protest.

It's not that security isn't there, however. The French police believe in responding in force when there is a clear threat. Hence, the film clips of riot police battling the protest crowds. The police exist and they turn out in force when the situation warrants. It's certainly a different risk management approach than in America where a police presence is viewed by many as helping to deter crime. In New York City, for instance, one of the reasons cited for the significant drop in crime was getting cops to start "walking the beat" and becoming a familiar face in the neighbourhood. In France such police presence would be all too reminiscent of the European totalitarian regimes of the not so distant past.