> Sounds like rule of laws then? Yes and no, he was only arrested when his involvement became too obvious, but it was a well-known "secret" for many years on t

> Sounds like rule of laws then? Yes and no, he was only arrested when his involvement became too obvious, but it was a well-known "secret" for many years on the streets that he was running the show the whole time. And out of all cops and politicians accused of serious crimes (rape, murder, theft) it's very rare to see any of them condemned. And when they are condemned to a prison sentence, it's usually never enforced. Many well-known french politicians have been condemned to a prison sentence but i've never heard of a single one of them actually sitting behind bar. This creates a culture of impunity in the official representatives. > arrest corrupt officials when they threaten the desired equilibrium Yes, precisely. Only when they're too much of a bother to defend, they're rid of. I heard in germanic countries corruption and crime in State representatives is taken more seriously and it's not uncommon for ministers to be kicked out of public affairs even before they're condemned. In France, corruption is business as usual, so you get in a situation where homeless people can be jailed for stealing food from a supermarket or cracking a squat in a building that was empty for many years, but people in power doing much more serious crimes will never face any sort of consequences beyond the very few independent media giving them bad press (which is not relayed by mainstream media which is owned by their friends from the industry). Differential justice based on class and connections does not fit into the definition of "rule of law". EDIT: Strongly recommend reading Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish. It offers a certain perspective on how modern social control operates, and how "justice" is not an independent power.