Social Solidarity, French-Style

What does one do when one hears a child's cries and screams coming from an apartment inhabited by a man known for his violent bent?

When you live in the country whose generosity and solidarity are legendary (so generous and solidaristic that it is only natural that the French constantly give advice to America's heartless capitalists on the matter), as Jacques Fortier explains, there is no need to do anything (why would there be when this society cannot but have the best social services on the planet) — even if you are the mother of the (eventually) dead boy. After all, you are living in an avant-garde society known for its legendary solidarity and generosity…

[Christophe] Beugnot dreams up terrible "corrections" for the child: ice-cold showers, nights spent naked tied to a chair, the requirement to eat the dog's fesces. … Today, Adeline [Marfe] says that she "didn't have the courage" and the force to stop the fatal spiral of violence. [The 25-year-old mother of 4-year-old Dylan said nothing, not even] to her parents, to her boss, to her neighbours, to her friends, not even to the father of her children, her former husband.

(Why is it I feel that it is time to link Dennis Prager again?…)