Judicial attitudes towards tax fraud: the unconscious at work in institutions
French criminal courts often deal leniently with tax fraud cases, but the individuals involved in handling such cases are not fully aware that this is the case. To analyze this collective institutional obliviousness, we look at the discourse and practice of prosecutors and judges working with tax fraud files passed on to them by the tax authorities. Although all these actors are convinced that the fight against this form of white-collar crime is necessary, they refrain from using all the means in their power to secure effective penalties. The result is an indulgent attitude that contrasts with the courts’ intransigence in other fields. In order to get a clearer view of the fiscal impunity that results, we propose an approach that takes into account the uniqueness of this crime and these criminals, keeping in mind the legal and symbolic constraints affecting judges.