decided to make mass surveillance lawful, which caused a large backlash
That wasn't my impression. I don't know about twitter, but there were little discussion about this law on popular media (especially compared to other unimportant issues that are debated for months, and I'm not even talking about the gay marriage that led to huge protests). Sadly, most politicians supported this law, and so did most French people.
Yes, that's my point. It caused little concern beyond a certain tech savvy community. That's why I wouldn't go as far as calling this a "large backlash" (even though I wish it was). Overall, my feeling is that the French don't react differently than the Americans on these issues.
I think your fear is entirely justified. The problem is compounded by the lack of tech-savy lawmakers, many of whom give the impression of voting on something they don't really understand to "do something against terrorism".
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That wasn't my impression. I don't know about twitter, but there were little discussion about this law on popular media (especially compared to other unimportant issues that are debated for months, and I'm not even talking about the gay marriage that led to huge protests). Sadly, most politicians supported this law, and so did most French people.
Traditional media such as TV or radio talked briefly about it, but it was heavily discussed on online newspapers (eg, http://www.lemonde.fr/loi-sur-le-renseignement/), and websites were set up to protest and educate citizens, such as this one: http://ni-pigeons-ni-espions.fr/fr/.
Yes, that's my point. It caused little concern beyond a certain tech savvy community. That's why I wouldn't go as far as calling this a "large backlash" (even though I wish it was). Overall, my feeling is that the French don't react differently than the Americans on these issues.
I think your fear is entirely justified. The problem is compounded by the lack of tech-savy lawmakers, many of whom give the impression of voting on something they don't really understand to "do something against terrorism".