Anti-police movements and the challenge of police opacity in France
This article analyses the impact of the opacity surrounding police actions on mobilizations challenging police violence and discrimination in France. Based on a qualitative study of three contemporary mobilizations, the article shows that activists perceive police opacity as an important obstacle to movement building and that they invest in the production of knowledge to substantiate their claims. Existing sociological research demonstrates that social movements participate in knowledge production, but few have examined how knowledge production shapes how causes are framed. By comparing different modes of knowledge production, this study shows that depending on the methodology used, the type of data collected, and the analytical lens adopted, different modes of knowledge production emphasize different aspects of policing practices and help consolidate specific frames, at the expense of others.