Sociology of Police Choreographies

Our paper aims to show that “dances in struggle” are performed not only by demonstrators, but also by law enforcement officers. Indeed, their engagement is at the crossroads of ballet and military parade. Based on observations, interviews and official documentation, this article looks at the choreography of crowd policing. Using helmet handling as a case in point, we show that crowd policing complies with a strict discipline, which is itself interwoven with functionalities whose disruptions induce major risks for the operations carried out.