Bonjour Big Brother: The Surveillance State Comes to France
Jose Nino
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France goes full Big Brother in a crime-ridden neighborhood, which should have residents worried.
Le Parisien reports, that fifty “sound sensors” will be set up in the crime plagued Tarentaize-Beaubrun-Couriot district located in the city of Saint-Étienne in the Loire department. These sensors are supposed to be installed for a six-month trial.
According to Victoria Friedman of Breitbart, these sensors will alert municipal law enforcement of any “suspicious” noise, such as “An accident, a scream, the sound of glass breaking, an aggression.” Municipality officials allayed privacy concerns stating that “the system does not record conversations or even hear them. It will only capture the alerts.”
This new security installation will be the first of its kind in France. Local officials sustain that it will reinforce existing video surveillance and be part of the municipality’s plan to turn Saint-Étienne into a “smart city” that is filled with smart meters, applications, and other innovative technology.
Two of Saint-Étienne’s elected officials, Jean-Pierre Berger and Jean-Noël Cornut, said “People must be reassured, we will not spy on them.” Berger added: “People’s well-being also depends on greater security.”
Fabrice Koszyk, the director of Serenicity, a cybersecurity company, asserted that “this device is not Big Brother,” and made clear that no privacy laws would be abused during the experiment.
However, residents told Le Parisien that the new security installations would be tantamount to “spying”. Instead, they believe that there should be increased policing.
One resident of the Tarentaize-Beaubrun-Couriot neighborhood, Bernard Mallet, had choice words about the municipality’s security plans, “It’s an aberration. I am against surveillance. There are already too many cameras, and now microphones! I do not think it’s the right way to give us more security. My opinion is that we need more police officers.”
Mr.Mallet might actually be on to something. Instead of violating the civil liberties of its law-abiding citizens, France should not only step up its policing practices, but it should actually expand gun rights like the Czech Republic did in 2017 and review its immigration policies.
It’s no secret that France, just like the UK, has seen its fair share of No Go Zones pop up and turn traditionally safe neighborhoods into crime-infested ghettoes.
Instead of striking at the root and addressing the current immigration issue plaguing France and the rest of the EU, the political classes in Paris and EU continue to infringe upon their citizen’s liberties.
It’s small wonder why the Yellow Vests are taking to the streets. A political class can only be detached from the plight of its citizens for so long.
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