This paper proposes a sociohistorical interpretation of the trend of violent behaviors in interpersonal relationships since the 1970s in France. It is based on a unique synthesis of various types of data: police and judicial statistics, victimization and self-reported surveys, and demographic and socioeconomic data. The model links five processes at work in French society: a societal process of pacification, a political and legal process of criminalization, a process of judiciarization of everyday life conflicts, a socioeconomic process of competition for consumer goods, and a process of economic, social, and spatial segregation. This paper also draws links between the many theoretical contributions that have marked the history of sociology and criminology.