The new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, barely survived his first week in office under threat of censure. Meanwhile, NGOs warn that France has been “dropping out of democracy” since 2017, as authorities restrict protests and dissolve associations. Public trust in politics has cratered. Adding to the turbulence, former president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy, a dramatic symbol of both accountability and decay.

To many, this looks like another round of French chaos — a society forever oscillating between revolution and repression. But seen through a developmental lens, France’s turmoil makes sense.

A Nation Caught Between Stages

My Five-Stage Model of Civilization suggests that societies, like individuals, mature emotionally. They move from fear and dependency (Stage 1), through anger and rivalry (Stage 2), through paternalism and conformity (Stage 3), through assertion of rights and freedom (Stage 4), to a final stage of collaborative maturity (Stage 5), where empathy, consensus, and fairness guide public life.

France today is stuck between Stages 2, 3, and 4.

• Stage 2 anger is visible in the barricades, strikes, and violent clashes. Citizens feel betrayed and lash out against institutions.

• Stage 3 paternalism persists in France’s centralized state. Leaders govern as stern parents, imposing austerity from above.

• Stage 4 rebellion erupts in civil society’s demand for liberty, dignity, and authentic voice.

What France lacks is Stage 5 maturity: politics built on empathy, inclusion, and collaborative problem-solving.

Echoes of History

This is not new. The French Revolution of 1789 embodied Stage 2 anger; the Napoleonic state reflected Stage 3 paternalism. The uprisings of May 1968 were classic Stage 4 rebellion against conformity. France has even glimpsed Stage 5 — in its role founding the European Union after World War II, and more recently in citizens’ assemblies on climate policy. But these flashes of maturity have never been institutionalized.

What Stage 5 Would Mean

In a mature society, budget debates would not trigger barricades. Instead, they would be mediated by permanent forums bringing together government, unions, employers, and citizens.

Economic reforms would not pit austerity against welfare. They would balance prosperity with fairness through “communitarian capitalism,” where fiscal stability coexists with social protections and transparency.

Justice would not mean only harsh policing of protests. It would include restorative programs that address the roots of crime in trauma and exclusion. Communication would not be dominated by slogans and demonization. It would be authentic, empathic, and inclusive.

Stage 5 is not utopia. It is simply the next step of social maturity — a way of harmonizing freedom, equality, and community.

Paths Ahead

France now faces several possible trajectories:

• Regression: Hardening repression and deepening anger spiral into instability.

• Stagnation: Paternalistic half-measures preserve order but fail to restore trust.

• Oscillation: The country swings endlessly between rebellion and repression.

• Progress: Incremental reforms gradually build new trust.

• Leap: A national pact — a kind of “Stage 5 social contract” — resets fiscal policy, social fairness, and democratic legitimacy.

Which path France chooses depends less on debt ratios than on emotional development at the collective level.

Toward Maturity

If France is to move forward, it must transform its turmoil into dialogue. Leaders should institutionalize citizens’ assemblies, negotiate fiscal choices openly, and embrace transparency in taxation and spending. Justice must shift from punitive reflexes to trauma-informed rehabilitation. Education should teach empathy and conflict resolution, not just history and math. And above all, political communication must become authentic: leaders who listen as much as they speak.

France is not alone in facing this challenge. Many democracies oscillate between anger, paternalism, and rebellion. But France’s long history of revolution gives it both the risk of regression and the possibility of leadership.

Today’s turmoil is a test: can France rise from protest to maturity? The answer will shape not only its own future but the trajectory of democracy in Europe.

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Understanding Trauma and Leadership

Trauma, as defined in Kim’s analysis, refers not only to acute incidents of violence or accidents but also to subtle, enduring emotional neglect or abandonment during critical developmental phases. Such experiences profoundly shape one’s emotional responses, interpersonal skills, and coping mechanisms (van der Kolk, 2014). Leaders suffering from untreated trauma often exhibit authoritarian, controlling, or vengeful behaviors, reflecting unconscious attempts to regain control or retaliate against past injuries (Herman, 1992).

Real-World Examples

• Historical Leadership: Authoritarian regimes led by individuals such as Joseph Stalin or Pol Pot demonstrate how unresolved personal traumas can catastrophically influence governance, affecting millions negatively (Glad, 2002; Chandler, 1999).
• Corporate Environments: Scandals such as Enron highlight the destructive impact of unresolved emotional issues in leaders on organizational culture and ethics (Sims & Brinkmann, 2003).

The Five Stages of Emotional Development in Leaders

The Five Stages framework suggests that leaders at early emotional stages (particularly Stage 1: Authoritarian-Dependent or Stage 2: Competitive-Narcissistic) tend to utilize power and aggression as mechanisms of self-protection and dominance (Kim, 2021). These leaders often misinterpret interpersonal and group dynamics as threats, prompting hostile or punitive responses toward innocent followers. Consequently, such leadership perpetuates cycles of intergenerational trauma, hostility, and scapegoating, severely impacting social harmony and development (Volkan, 1997).

Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Research underscores the necessity of emotional intelligence in leadership roles:

• Emotionally intelligent leaders foster significantly more positive, productive, and resilient organizational environments (Goleman, 1998).
• A comprehensive review by Harms et al. (2017) shows emotionally intelligent leadership significantly reduces employee stress and enhances job satisfaction.

Socio-Cultural Consequences

Untreated trauma in leadership reinforces regressive emotional patterns such as ethnocentrism, prejudice, and sexism. Emotional maturity and trauma resolution are prerequisites for higher socio-cultural stages characterized by empathy, collaboration, and collective growth. Without addressing unresolved trauma, leaders remain emotionally arrested, incapable of fostering inclusive and emotionally intelligent environments essential for societal advancement (Kim, 2021; Staub, 2006).

Practical Recommendations for Change

Addressing trauma in leaders is essential for societal well-being:

• Routine mental health assessments for leaders.
• Trauma-informed leadership development programs.
• Psycho-educational initiatives within organizations and institutions (Bloom, 2013).

Conclusion and Call to Action

Any leader operating with untreated trauma poses substantial risks to the emotional well-being and socio-cultural fabric of their followers and bystanders. Societies must proactively ensure leaders confront and resolve their trauma, thereby protecting innocent individuals from destructive emotional patterns. By fostering empathy, inclusivity, and collective growth, communities can build healthier environments and stronger, more resilient societies.

What do you think? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

References

• Bloom, S. L. (2013). Creating Sanctuary: Toward the Evolution of Sane Societies. Routledge.
• Chandler, D. P. (1999). Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot. Westview Press.
• Glad, B. (2002). Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power. Political Psychology, 23(1), 1-37.
• Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.
• Harms, P. D., Credé, M., Tynan, M., Leon, M., & Jeung, W. (2017). Leadership and stress: A meta-analytic review. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 178-194.
• Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books.
• Kim, R. Y. (2021). The Five Stages of Civilization: From an Integrated Psychological and Psychoanalytic Perspective. Living Free Publishing.
• Sims, R. R., & Brinkmann, J. (2003). Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More Than Codes). Journal of Business Ethics, 45(3), 243-256.
• Staub, E. (2006). Reconciliation after genocide, mass killing, or intractable conflict: Understanding the roots of violence, psychological recovery, and steps toward a general theory. Political Psychology, 27(6), 867-894.
• van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.
• Volkan, V. D. (1997). Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride to Ethnic Terrorism. Westview Press.

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The Psychological Roots of Polarization

Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein offers profound insights into why trauma, especially in early life, can lead to what she termed “splitting.” Splitting is a defense mechanism where individuals view the world in black-and-white terms, dividing people and experiences into “all good” or “all bad.” This concept originates from an infant’s experience with the mother’s breast, which the child perceives as either entirely nurturing or entirely withholding. When trauma arrests an individual’s emotional development, this simplistic, polarized way of thinking can persist into adulthood.

Societal movements, including extremism, are driven by collective emotions and unconscious processes. Extremism is seen as a by-product of the tension between the desire for security and the fear of losing it, which can lead to authoritarianism or radicalism. These reactions can be triggered by unresolved emotions such as fear, anger, or anxiety, which are often projected onto out-groups or dissenters.

Furthermore, extremism can be a manifestation of socio-cultural “arrest,” where societies or groups fail to progress to more advanced stages of emotional and socio-cultural development. In these cases, extremist behaviors and ideologies may serve as a coping mechanism for unresolved collective trauma or anxiety, leading to destructive outcomes like violence, war, or oppression.

Polarization is, in essence, the antithesis of empathy. Empathy requires understanding and relating to the emotions and perspectives of others, even when they differ from our own. However, a polarized mindset cannot accommodate these differences. It creates an environment where only those who agree with us are deemed acceptable, and those who don’t are viewed as threats or enemies.

The Socio-Political Impact of Polarization

The consequences of polarization extend far beyond personal relationships; they permeate our socio-political landscapes. Leaders who hold polarized views often rise to prominence in such environments, reinforcing and amplifying community divisions. This process is exacerbated when the public, driven by fear and anxiety, is easily swayed by these leaders or by manipulative media tactics, especially in times of uncertainty.

Emotionally, cultures that operate on lower tiers of development—where empathy and understanding are less prevalent—tend to have more polarized views of others. This can manifest as racism, xenophobia, or other forms of discrimination based on unchangeable human characteristics such as race, color, or birth endowment.

For example, many extremists, including mass murderers, have been found to hold deeply polarized worldviews. These views often stem from early life traumas that were never addressed or healed. On a broader scale, political or religious extremism can be reinforced by continuous socio-cultural traumas, such as those caused by wars or natural disasters.

Healing from Polarization

Understanding the roots of polarization in trauma provides us with a path toward healing. The first step is acknowledging the impact that personal and collective traumas have on our worldviews. By recognizing how past hurts influence our present attitudes, we can begin to challenge and soften the rigid, black-and-white thinking that characterizes polarized views.

Healing also involves fostering empathy, both within ourselves and in our communities. This means actively listening to and engaging with perspectives different from our own, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of the world. Leaders and influencers who promote empathy over division can play a crucial role in guiding societies away from the brink of extremism.

Additionally, addressing the socio-cultural traumas that fuel polarization is essential. This requires systemic efforts to provide support and healing for communities affected by wars, natural disasters, and other forms of collective trauma. In doing so, we can help to create environments where individuals are less likely to adopt extremist views and more likely to engage in constructive, empathetic dialogue.

Conclusion

Trauma, both personal and collective, plays a significant role in the development and intensification of polarized views. However, by understanding these roots and committing to healing, we can begin to move away from extremism and toward a more empathetic, connected world. It’s a challenging journey, but one that is essential for the health and well-being of both individuals and societies. Let us strive to replace division with understanding and fear with empathy, healing the wounds that divide us and creating a more harmonious world for all.

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You may wonder what happened to the empathic ability of the police officers at the Uvalde shooting.

We can use the 5 stage empathy model to understand their action at the time.

Every human being has the survival need to meet in a dangerous situation. When the police officers were reluctant to break into the classroom of innocent young children facing the imminent danger of death, one hypothesis can be their own fear of death at Stage 1 survival level of compassion.

Then the controversy is whether we can expect police officers to sacrifice their lives to rescue people in danger. We are especially talking about young elementary school students.

Observing the police officers’ actions at the scene, we can see that their fear of survival surpassed their duty as civil servants or sympathy at Stage 3.

If any of the children are their own, the police may have acted differently, which can also be considered a stage 1 level of compassion, identification, or projection of love toward the own family or ingroup member.

Stage 3 compassion or sympathy may involve their own feeling toward a child in danger if any of those officers have their own children of similar ages at home.

However, sympathy may not arise if the officers are from different racial or ethnic backgrounds to consider the children in danger are not from their community, such as through subtle racism.

We can now check how much empathy training has been implemented in the existing police officer training program. We can wonder if the training is primarily focused on protecting the safety of the police officers and understanding their higher mortality in the line of duty.

One more factor we need to consider is that when the police officers and the shooter face each other, even if the bulletproof vest is protecting them, the police officers will be in an inferior position in their morale because most shooters are suicidal and prepared to die when they plan to shoot others in public, while no police officers will be prepared to die.

The best way to train police officers is to equip them with a higher level of empathic ability that considers the welfare and safety of innocent children as their priority. The training may also prepare them to consider even the welfare of the criminal offenders’ families without simply demonizing them, who might have had no clue about the horrendous acts in advance through the systematic training of empathy skills and education.

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