A l'UM la science [S02-ep14] : From feelings of insecurity to the Eco rendez-vous

[Podcast] - Published on February 2, 2023 in Faculties, Schools and Institutes, Science-Society

This week in A l'UM la science, Marie-Christine Sordino, director of the criminal law and forensic science team, talks us through the survey she conducted on feelings of insecurity in Montpellier. At the end of the program, François Mirabel, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, presents the next conference-debate in the Rendez-vous de l'Eco series. A program broadcast on Divergence FM-93.9, every Wednesday at 6pm.

This weekend, after a late aperitif at a friend's house, I was about to walk home through the city center when a couple who had also been invited offered me a lift. I've always liked walking in the city at night, so I politely decline the offer and receive a look of incomprehension, concern and even reproach, as if I were about to get into my car with 4 grams of alcohol in my blood.

- Are you sure? It's late anyway, and what neighborhood are you in?

- Oh yes, and... No, really, it's not safe to bring you back.

So if getting into your car while drunk is objectively dangerous for yourself and others, why is driving home alone after 11pm considered a risky practice by some? What does or doesn't fuel a feeling of insecurity to the point of making it an objective reality for some? And what about me? Am I a victim of blindness in insisting on walking home? And what about the men in all this? Why didn't this same couple offer Karim, who had left a few minutes earlier, a lift home?

Faced with all these questions, once I'd returned home "safe and sound", I decided to find out a little more about insecurity in this town, which I've been visiting for almost 20 years now. After a few clicks, I came across this article from Midi Libre, dated January 9 and headlined " Sentiment d'insécurité à Montpellier: ces lieux fréquemment évités par les habitants, les femmes en majorité ". Journalist Laurie Zenon bases her article on two surveys carried out in the central district of Montpellier in 2022 by the city in partnership with the French Forum for Urban Security and the University of Montpellier. Our guest is Marie Christine Sordino, professor of law, researcher and director of Montpellier's criminal law and forensic science team. She directed part of this survey.

At the end of the program, we'll welcome Professor François Mirabel, who will present the next de rendez-vous de l'Eco, organized on February 8 by the Faculty of Economics in partnership with Midi Libre, on the theme: Energy transition, citizen's levers for action.

At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!

Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Production: Tom Chevalier

Listen to the "A l'UM la science" program on Divergence FM 93.9