Is security really everyone’s business? The limits of citizen participation in a typically sovereign domain in France

In France, counterterrorism efforts have reinforced the idea that security is everyone’s business, including the population. Beyond official speeches, how do the public authorities deal with the issue of citizen engagement in this supposedly sovereign domain ? This article provides some answers through examples that concern both direct contributions to local policing and the governance of security policies. Between the promotion of institutional initiatives and the desire to control or even stifle autonomous actions, the implementation of citizen participation in this field calls into question the evolution of a French security model based on the dominant position of the state.