THE SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE IN FRANCE

Though apparently a recent development, the French sociology of crime and deviance in fact has a long history, which was interrupted for a considerable time. The most characteristic and the most highly developed aspects of the current French sociology of crime are probably its approach to the study of crime through an analysis of actual and symbolic penal 'economics' (process and representation), its historical mutations, and its actors. But the field is becoming diversified with the appearance of sociologies of deviance inspired by the belated reappearance of trends of American sociology, by the contributions of national sociological schools, and above all by the interest shown in the field by specialists from related subjects. To get to the heart of the subject in a few pages, I will try to respond to this challenge by briefly developing the history, the main trend, and the recent diversification of French sociology of crime. © 1991 The Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency.