ensauvager

To make wild or savage — a genuine but rare literal use (des terres qui s'ensauvagent, reverting to wilderness), but it's the noun ensauvagement that made this word politically charged in France from the 2010s on, used by parts of the right and far right to describe a perceived rise in violence and lawlessness.

• Les terres agricoles abandonnées s'ensauvagent peu à peu. — The abandoned farmland is gradually reverting to wilderness.
• Certains responsables politiques parlent d'un pays qui s'ensauvage. — Some politicians speak of a country becoming lawless.
• Le terme «ensauvagement» reste très débattu dans le débat public. — The term "ensauvagement" remains highly debated in public discourse.

Learners should know the noun ensauvagement isn't neutral vocabulary — it's tied to a specific, contested political framing of crime and insecurity, not a plain descriptive term to use casually.

• politics « Ensauvagement » — Term used by Marine Le Pen, Éric Zemmour, and later Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin (in an interview with Le Figaro, calling to "stopper l'ensauvagement d'une certaine partie de la société") to describe a perceived rise in violent crime in France — a contested phrase criticized by figures like Christiane Taubira for its colonial-era connotations.