A conversation I had with my French girlfriend tonight about the protests...

My girlfriend is French, and
today she suddenly showed me a video on her Instagram feed
of French police suppressing protesters.
She said she couldn't believe how coercive the police were being toward citizens
and expressed concern about where this country is headed...
She also mentioned that a bill is being considered in France recently
where, even if police cause injury or death to citizens during protest suppression,
the principle of presumption of innocence would apply to the officers
if there was a perceived threat, as stipulated by the constitution...
She said the country is going crazy as it moves toward authoritarianism...
So, I told her that in Korea, we jokingly call France
the "land of revolution" and often associate it with violent protests.
I asked her if that was true,
and she said while the media does exaggerate to some extent,
it's not that such things don't happen...
However, she said it doesn't happen every time
and that there are many peaceful protests as well...
Then I asked her if something I once read in a newspaper was true:
that French people
tend to just accept it when protesters set fires, vandalize property,
or smash other people's cars,
thinking, "I might do the same if I ever protest due to my own problems,"
and that such violent acts are generally tolerated by society
without much issue...
She said that was also true...
So, I shared my thoughts:
I don't think everyone directly participates in such violent, destructive acts,
and ultimately, only a few might take such direct action.
But regardless, I think it is problematic that the general public
mostly tolerates such behavior under the pretext of "protesting"...
I asked her, "To push through your arguments and demands,
why must you destroy public property, set fires, and cause chaos,
disrupting order,
smashing the cars of innocent third parties parked on the street,
or destroying others' shops and infringing on the property of innocent people?
Before cursing the government for becoming authoritarian and undemocratic,
shouldn't the French people reflect on whether they themselves are citizens
who truly uphold democratic values?
Is it really democratic to infringe upon public goods and the private property of others
just to satisfy your own arguments and demands?"
She replied, "If we don't do that, the government doesn't really listen, so what else can we do?"...
So I said, "If you use violent means every time to get what you want,
the French government will increasingly ignore opinions expressed through peaceful methods,
and it will become a vicious cycle where protesters have to resort to even more violent means...
And as protesters become more violent,
won't that just provide the French government with more excuses
to strengthen police power?
Did Gandhi of India advocate for non-violent struggle
without any strategic thought?
The more violent the people become, the more legitimacy the government gains
for authoritarian rule, and that could become a means of the people
tightening the noose around themselves...
Of course, in any place, there may be rogue elements
who cause disturbances and riots,
but I believe there is a difference between being generally wary of them
and having an atmosphere where they are mostly tolerated...
We don't live in an era like hundreds of years ago
where the masses rose up and beheaded kings.
Perhaps instead of just holding the government to the standards of democratic values,
the French people should also be conscious of developing a mature attitude toward protesting
in order to become more democratic citizens themselves..."
When I said this,
she said she had never thought about it that way since she was a student,
and while my perspective felt very new and unfamiliar,
she understood what I meant...
However, she noted that since it is quite far removed from the general way of thinking in France,
she thinks the possibility of French people's perceptions changing like this is low.
She also mentioned that there might be counterarguments from a French perspective,
but she couldn't think of an immediate rebuttal...
Rather than saying she agrees, she said she understands the perspective
and thought that perhaps there are parts where the French people are wrong,
and that what I said might actually be correct...