Quick bump: "Psychological violence"
Some political agitators recently deposited 5 coffins near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, with a sign saying "French soldiers of Ukraine". (The coffins contained bags of plaster, nothing more.) The agitators are obviously encouraging the French to stop supporting Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Whether you agree with the message or the means, you should disagree with how the French have responded. Their government arrested the agitators and is reportedly pursuing charges of "premeditated violence". More specifically, the allegation is "psychological violence" – a contradiction in terms that wouldn't exist in a free society. This protest may have been shocking and even disruptive, but it was not violent by any ordinary definition of the word.
Government either treats people fairly or makes itself illegitimate. The French government is not looking particularly legitimate in this case.
