[en] Neighborhood vigilance is being developed and institutionalized in France through two schemes, a private one "Voisins vigilants", and a public one "Participation citoyenne". These networks share the same security ethos as Neighborhood Watches in the USA. This article provides an overview of empirical studies in social science research on France vigilance networks, and presents various theories mobilized by researchers in their analysis. A distinction is made between the study of recorded incivilities, feelings of insecurity, public and citizen policies implemented in response to them, and forms of involvement in such schemes.While little research has been undertaken in France on neighborhood vigilance, French sociologists from a variety of fields have been investing in field surveys since 2012 to better identify citizen vigilance networks. The study of the French case allows us to show the proximities and divergences with Neighborhood Watches, the American neighborhood watch to which the private "Voisins Vigilants" scheme and its public equivalent "Participation citoyenne" are often assimilated. The article presents a review of the scientific literature on the various social science surveys and theories on participation in security in France, a scientific field challenged by renewed debate.We show that there are two major approaches to neighborhood vigilance in France. The first approach is rooted in the sociology of social movements. It focuses on the power relationship generated by "citizen vigilance", based on notions such as social control and deviance. Its representatives are Matthijs Gardenier and Sébastien Bauvet. Social movement sociology seeks to show the consecration of insecurity as a major political issue, and emphasizes the rise in popular demand for monitoring devices. This field of French research is based on a re-reading of Surveiller et Punir (Michel Foucault, 1975), which launched the analysis of modern penal society.The other social science approach to neighborhood vigilance is taken by researchers who are experts in the study of policing and of its agents (Valérie Malochet and Eleonora Elguezabal). Their approach is closed to experts in crime, such as Frédéric Ocqueteau and Sébastian Roché. They describe the evolution of policing in France. To grasp the function of the citizen in security policies, Valérie Malochet and Eleonora Elguezabal also use works on citizen participation in democracy, those by Julien Talpin, Philippe Aldrin and Nicolas Hubé.The scientific domain of vigilantism reflects the advent of a "security culture" in France, a breeding ground for the spread of vigilance in wealthy suburban communities, symbolized by the "Voisins vigilants" scheme. In fact, the security movement at work in French society is mainly affecting the middle classes and affluent populations in urban and suburban areas. This review of the scientific literature pictures contrasting communities, eager to contribute to social and political life in the city, but also tempted by social withdrawal and fear of strangers.

[fr] La vigilance de quartier se développe et s'institutionnalise en France à travers deux dispositifs, l'un privé " Voisins vigilants ", l'autre public " Participation citoyenne ". Ces réseaux empruntent le même éthos sécuritaire que les membres des Neighborhood Watches aux Etats-Unis. L'article fait un état des lieux des enquêtes empiriques en sciences sociales sur les réseaux de vigilance en France et présente les différentes théories mobilisées par les chercheurs dans leur analyse. Le mouvement sécuritaire à l'œuvre dans la société française saisit en majorité les classes moyennes et les populations aisées des territoires urbains et périurbains. Un travail de distinction est fait entre l'étude des incivilités comptabilisées, du sentiment d'insécurité, des politiques publiques et citoyennes mises en place pour y répondre et des formes d'engagement dans de tels dispositifs. À travers cet état de la littérature scientifique, se dresse le portrait de communautés contrastées, demandeuses de contribuer à la vie sociale et politique de la cité, et en même temps, gagnées par des sentiments de repli sur soi et de peur de l'étranger.