Video Games on Trial: Macron Pins French Riots on Gaming Culture

Get this: President Macron of the land of cheese and berets, France, is pointing an accusatory finger at social media and video games for the tumult shaking up his nation. It’s as if Pac-Man started the French Revolution! It all follows a torrid few days in Paris which has seen the City of Love turn into the City of Riots for three nights on the trot, all sparked by a rather tragic police shooting.

Video Games and Social Media: The Culprits in Macron’s Crosshairs

The tinderbox was ignited in the suburbs of Paris, in Nanterre to be precise, where a bobby offloaded a bullet into a fleeing 17-year-old known as Nahel M. Now, Nahel, with a mind to evade a simple traffic stop, had put pedal to the metal, prompting the police response.

His untimely demise whipped up a frenzy of outrage, fuelling growing demands for stricter police oversight. Nahel’s grieving mum made allegations of racial bias against her Algerian-descended boy, adding more fuel to the fire. Nanterre’s locals hit the pavement in protest, resulting in a series of not-so-peaceful face-offs with the rozzers. The trigger-happy officer? He’s under scrutiny for voluntary homicide.

Macron, the top-dog in the French political food chain, has requested mums and dads to keep their youngsters off the streets during the ruckus. The Gallic leader is pointing an accusatory digit at social media for fuelling the rallies and also has thrown video games under the bus as catalysts for the violence and destruction. “It feels like some are playing out their video game fantasies on our streets,” said Macron, likening the rioters to joystick-junkies. He emphasised that the protestors are primarily whipper-snappers and it’s the duty of their old folks to ground them during this turbulent spell.

This age-old argument that video games are the devil’s plaything and the root of real-world violence is a well-trodden path, a tired narrative stretching back to the 1970s. Yet, after five decades of public nattering, not a shred of scientific evidence has emerged linking pixelated violence to the real deal. Still, video games have often found themselves in the crosshairs when it comes to finger-pointing for violent deeds. Remember when Senator Ted Cruz from Texas blamed Fortnite for mass shootings? Classic!

Macron’s Call for Parental Control Amid Video Games Blame Game

Macron’s claims are a tad surprising, given his previous thumbs-up to the gaming and esports industry. Only last year, he was shouting from the rooftops about France being the “gaming utopia” and lauding video games as key contributors to the nation’s cultural cachet and an essential cog in the machine of its soft power. Any plans for gaming regulations as a riot-response from Macron? Zilch.

Yet, his tone is decidedly different when it comes to social media, which, according to him, has its digital fingerprints all over the promotion of violence. He singled out Snapchat and TikTok, accusing them of serving as the coordination hubs for the riots and inciting further violence by relaying protest visuals.

Macron’s action plan? Engage with social media companies to scrub out “sensitive content” and twist their arm to reveal identities of those who use these platforms to instigate violence. Yet, he’s left us in the dark as to what exactly he means by “sensitive content”. Only time will tell. Or perhaps it won’t, if it gets censored first!

Source – APNews