The Monopoly of Violence

The yellow vest demonstrations in France were being repressed with an ever-increasing violence. The movie questions the legitimacy of the state's use of violence. In this documentary, director David Dufresne gathers a panel of citizens (including truck drivers, plumbers, lawyers, police-union officials, academics, social workers, journalists, stay-at-home moms) to question, exchange and confront their views on the social order and the legitimacy of the use of force by the State. "MONOPOLY OF VIOLENCE has universal relevance even while it is specifically French, dealing as it does with the indigenous gilets jaunes movement, while advancing a variety of analyses that deploy semiotics and critical theory with infectious gusto." (Artforum)