The implementation of restorative justice in France
In France, restorative justice was enacted by the law of August 15, 2014 and implemented with the ministerial circular of March 15, 2017. Using data produced for the study “Freins et leviers de la justice restaurative en France”, this article explains that restorative justice is not as much an alternative to the punitive model of justice as it is a response to the sociocultural evolution of legal professionals and social actors, especially with regard to their relationships to the law and judicial system. Fundamental to this evolution are the introduction of various communication structures and channels, and the renewed interest in issues relating to the conflictual dynamics of legal disputes. As examined in this article, restorative justice continues to impact the professional culture of criminal system actors, as well as the relationships of lay or non-legal actors to the law.