By Roland Y. Kim, Ph.D.
A Nation in Turmoil
France is once again in the grip of mass protest and political turbulence. On September 18, 2025, more than 800,000 citizens across sectors — teachers, transport workers, hospital staff — joined one of the biggest strikes in years. A movement called Bloquons Tout (“Block Everything”) erected barricades, blocked roads, and clashed with police. The newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faced threats of censure on his very first day in office.
At the same time, democratic erosion has become a common theme. NGOs warn that since 2017, France has been “dropping out of democracy” through the dissolution of associations, over-policing of protests, and a narrowing space for civil liberties. Confidence in politics is collapsing: polls show French citizens trust their leaders less than their neighbors across Europe.
Economically, the government is pushing through €40 billion in budget cuts to rein in a debt burden that has passed 100% of GDP. Unions warn these austerity measures will shred public services and deepen inequality. And hovering over it all is the spectacle of former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction and prison sentence for criminal conspiracy — the first time a French president has been handed actual jail time.
To many observers, France looks like a democracy under strain, lurching from protest to protest, leader to leader, without a coherent path forward. But what if this unrest is not just a matter of politics or economics, but of developmental stage?
The Five-Stage Lens
The Five-Stage Model of Civilization that I have developed offers a framework for understanding societies not just by their institutions but by their emotional maturity. Just as individuals grow through phases of fear, anger, guilt, independence, and empathy, so too do nations and cultures.
- Stage 1 (Authoritarian-Dependent): Security through strong rulers; fear dominates.
- Stage 2 (Competitive-Narcissistic): Anger, rivalry, ambition; power contests define politics.
- Stage 3 (Cooperative-Conforming): Anxiety, guilt, paternalism; order and conformity over freedom.
- Stage 4 (Libertarian-Independent): Assertion of individual rights, resistance to authority, demand for freedom.
- Stage 5 (Collaborative-Actualizing): Empathy, consensus politics, communitarian capitalism, restorative justice, authentic communication.
A Stage 5 mature society integrates freedom with responsibility, efficiency with equality, and individuality with community.
France’s Current Stage
Looking at France through this lens, it is clear that the country is oscillating between Stages 2, 3, and 4 — and struggling to consolidate maturity.
- Stage 2 Anger: The street protests, barricades, and clashes with police echo the revolutionary energy of 1789 and the defiance of 1968. Anger at elites and institutions fuels destructive confrontation.
- Stage 3 Paternalism: The centralized French state, with its bureaucratic reflexes and top-down governance, reflects a paternalistic desire for order and control. Citizens demand the state act like a parent, while resenting its authority.
- Stage 4 Libertarian Rebellion: Civil society groups cry out against democratic erosion, demanding liberty, rights, and authentic voice. The resistance to austerity is framed not just economically, but as a fight for dignity and independence.
What France lacks is a Stage 5 framework — a way to transcend the pendulum of rebellion and repression, anger and paternalism, rights and resentment.
Historical Parallels
France has long swung between these stages:
- The French Revolution (1789–1799) was Stage 2 anger against monarchy.
- The Napoleonic era and centralized republics were Stage 3 paternalism.
- The May 1968 uprisings were Stage 4 libertarian rebellion.
- The post-WWII European project and more recently the Citizens’ Climate Convention show glimpses of Stage 5 maturity — collaborative, consensus-driven processes.
But these Stage 5 moments remain episodic, overshadowed by cycles of confrontation.
What Stage 5 Would Look Like
Imagine a France that had embraced Stage 5 maturity:
- Consensus Politics: Instead of austerity decrees and mass strikes, fiscal policy would be negotiated through participatory assemblies and tripartite forums (state–unions–employers).
- Communitarian Capitalism: Economic reforms would balance prosperity with fairness. Transparency on taxation and redistribution would restore trust.
- Restorative Justice: Rather than relying on coercive policing, France would pilot trauma-informed, rehabilitative approaches in urban hotspots.
- Authentic Communication: Leaders would engage in empathic, transparent dialogue with citizens, normalizing listening rather than confrontation.
- Inclusion: Minorities, immigrants, and youth would be integrated into decision-making structures, transforming “us vs. them” into “we.”
This is not utopia — it is simply the next developmental step for a society ready to mature.
Future Scenarios for France
- Regression (Stage 2–3): Anger escalates, policing hardens, democracy erodes further.
- Stagnation (Stage 3): The state muddles through with paternalistic fixes, but trust continues to decline.
- Oscillation (Stage 2 ↔ 4): France swings between rebellion and repression without resolution.
- Incremental Progress: Small participatory reforms gradually build new trust.
- Leap Toward Stage 5: A new social pact, forged in crisis, creates consensus on fiscal discipline, social fairness, and democratic renewal.
Which path France takes depends less on economics than on emotional development at the collective level.
Recommendations for Maturity
- Institutionalize Dialogue: Permanent social forums and citizen assemblies to mediate fiscal choices and civil liberties.
- Balance the Economy: Austerity only works if paired with fairness and transparent tax reform.
- Reform Justice: Independent policing reviews and restorative justice pilots.
- Rebuild Communication: Leaders must normalize empathic, transparent dialogue.
- Repair Trust: Anti-corruption reforms, youth investment, and civic education in empathy and conflict resolution.
Conclusion
France today is not collapsing — it is struggling through a developmental impasse. The turmoil on the streets is not just about pensions or austerity. It is about whether France can outgrow cycles of rebellion and paternalism and move toward the empathy, fairness, and collaboration of Stage 5 maturity.
The good news is that France has already glimpsed this future — in its European integration, in its citizens’ assemblies, and in its traditions of solidarity. The challenge now is to institutionalize maturity, so that consensus and empathy become the rule, not the exception.
France stands at a crossroads: regress into anger and coercion, stagnate in paternalism, or take the next step toward a truly mature society.
References on Current Events in France (2024–2025)
- Protests and strikes: “Block Everything protests sweep across France, scores arrested” – Reuters (Sept. 10, 2025).
- Mass mobilization: “France strikes: Hundreds of thousands march against austerity and cuts” – The Guardian (Sept. 18, 2025).
- Government instability: “New French PM Lecornu faces censure threat on first day amid nationwide protests” – AP News (Sept. 2025).
- Democratic erosion: “France has been ‘dropping out of democracy’ since 2017, warns an NGO report” – Le Monde (Sept. 27, 2025).
- Public distrust in politics: “French voters’ mistrust of politics aggravated since snap elections” – Le Monde (Feb. 12, 2025).
- Sarkozy’s conviction: “Sarkozy’s spectacular downfall marks turning point in France’s struggle against graft” – The Guardian (Sept. 25, 2025).
Theoretical / Psychoanalytic Foundations
- Freud, S. (1930/1961). Civilization and Its Discontents. New York: Norton.
- Fairbairn, W. R. D. (1952). Psychoanalytic Studies of the Personality. London: Routledge.
- Mahler, M., Pine, F., & Bergman, A. (1975). The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant: Symbiosis and Individuation. New York: Basic Books.
- Guntrip, H. (1961). Personality Structure and Human Interaction. London: Hogarth Press.
- Kohlberg, L. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
- Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. New York: Bantam.
- Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2010). “Changing Mass Priorities: The Link Between Modernization and Democracy.” Perspectives on Politics, 8(2), 551–567.
- Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
On Violence, Protest, and Social Development
- Pinker, S. (2011). The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York: Viking.
- Marcuse, H. (1955). Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud. Boston: Beacon Press.
- Rank, O. (1941). Beyond Psychology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.