By Mathias Delori
On July 19, 2016, aircrafts from the international coalition against the Islamic State, a coalition in which France participates, bombed the village of Tokhar in northern Syria. According to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Airwars, this bombing left at least 78 civilians dead. This event is only a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Since the early 2000s, France has intervened militarily in numerous countries, whether to defend its economic interests, combat “terrorism” or for humanitarian reasons. These interventions are rarely referred to as “wars”. We more often hear the terms “opération extérieure” or “intervention à l’étranger”, as if the word “war” were taboo. What’s more, most French people don’t feel that they’re really at war. How can we explain this feeling, and what answer can we give to the question: “Are we at war or not?
Published:
In: P. Boursier & W. F. C. Pelletier (Eds.), Manuel indocile de sciences sociales, Paris: La Découverte, 2019
DOI:
doi.org/10.3917/dec.coper.2019.01.0553
Online available:
www.cairn.info