France: The Yellow Vest Protest - A Run Down

[esotericstory]

Background

Because of the high prices on fuel people in rural areas in France started protests by blocking roundabouts and toll booths. They wear the yellow vests that every person must have in their car as their symbol. The French people in rural areas heavily rely on diesel to get around. You pay more taxes buying a liter diesel than you pay money to actually getting that liter of diesel.

Farmers occupy the cities

Now the people of France are no longer just protesting in rural areas, after two weeks protesting the protests have reached the capital, Paris, even Wallonia and Brussels, the capital of Belgium has been reached by the protesters.

The first week of protesting was relatively peaceful, but the second week of protest is now violent. Firebombs, tear gas and even some people died.

state of emergency

Macron the president of France has come called for an emergency meeting and considers to impose a state of emergency on the country. This is extremely unusual for a country like France where small protests occur on a weekly basis. Literally all over the country some angry people are protesting in the streets every week, yet calling for a state of emergency due to protest by the people never happens. The French are a belligerent and restless people, even in peace time.

Police show solidarity

The spokesperson from the police union is saying that police officers are buying plates for their bullet proof vests themselves as they are poorly equipped to deal with the erupting chaos in the nation. They have ran out of ammunition. The police keeps shooting tear gas canisters but the people keep kicking them back. Many police officers have actually disobeyed orders and show solidarity with the people. By doing so they commit treason against the president. It is clear at this point this is not a normal protest action.

Macron says he will impose a #StateofEmergency against the #gilletJaunes. The firefighters turned their backs. Now the police remove their helmets to show solidarity with the French people AGAINST Macron.

Vive la révolution. Macron démission.

pic.twitter.com/XHmW6OvuRE

— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) December 2, 2018

Police are poorly equipped.

Écouter #BenoitBarret - Syndicat Alliance Police
Les collègues sont usés
💥"ils doivent eux mêmes acheter leur matériel. Ils n’ont plus de balles."
📣Le coup de gueule d'un policier au point de la rupture après les violences à Parispic.twitter.com/BJ58eAFLY5

— Adrenaline ✞ 🇫🇷 (@adrenaline1001) December 2, 2018

Some take advantage to do violence

Communist infiltrators

Communists have dreamt of such a nationwide protest since the failed Communist revolution of 1968. Because the yellow jackets their symbol is so readily available, infiltrators were able to infiltrate the movement rather quickly. Communists are angry that they have not been able to mobilize the people of France and get them under their control to start a Communist take over so now they are attempting to subvert the protests. Communist protesters are easily identified however, they wear face coverings, while the real yellow vest protesters are showing their face openly. Most protesters have remained peaceful.

The protesters have indeed used violence, but they have taken care not to attack the working class. The violence they use is targeted against the establishment. Usually in riots stores are looted and trashed, while in this protest no such thing happened. The Communist infiltrators are the ones seeking brawls with the police. While the police is largely supportive of the protesters, everyone wearing a head cover is getting beaten sh*t out of.

Netherlands protests have started

Spread across Europe

“We want this movement to spread,”
“It began in France, it is here now, and we want it to continue to Germany and the Netherlands, across Europe, even to England.” The campaign seems not to stop, the campaign is going on. It remains a question what bad weather will bring to the movement, will it survive or not? What about the movement's standpoints? They want Macron to step down and affordable lives for their people.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

#yellowvests

#protest

#enoughisenough

[CuChullan]

A good take, explains about the protest in an informative way.
There's protests in Bulgaria against the rise in fuel prices as well. Motorways are being blocked, not much trouble, a bit of pushing and shoving between protesters and police.
The French know how to protest. I admire them for it. Unlike the Irish (i'm Irish) who bent over and took whatever the EU and their own corrupt politicians imposed on them up the arse without grease. They are still taking it. A few French style protests would have stopped the Irish government in its tracks.
I fully support the protest and the protesters. I wouldn't worry to much about the communists trying to take over or orchestrate things. They are a powerful group, but command no allegiance.
Europe, the EU, has lost all sight of what it was set up as and for. It has morphed into an exclusive bankers club that controls the EU parliament. No one elected bankers. To many European political parties and leaders have bought into neoliberal capitalism, the balance sheet economics. A system that sees people as no more than cash cows for governments and corporations. The last economic crisis in Europe was deliberately engineered. It overseen the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. It's time politicians and government worked for those that put them there. Or else.

[CuChullan]

Thanks for MHO!

[YHL6965]

Well, Macron was a banker so no surprise that our country is being milked dry right now.

[Guanfei]

They aren't just protesting about gas price.
Our government basically make up a new taxe every week. Like, they rised the gas price, then want us to buy electric car, and is now planning to rise the price of electricity by 40%.
They're also planning taxes on mobile phones plans. On mobile phones and anything with a screen to pay for the public television, despite it being insanely bad. On hyperlinks too. They're also planning a tax on meat. A tax for suburban drivers to pay for public transportations. A tax for every package delivered at home. A rise of the tax on alcohol. A tax on salt. And all of that in the past 6 months.
While rich people and big companies, whose benefits have never been higher, are less and less taxed.

There is much more than that, people against the EU, against the migration pact, for better salaries...
The thing is, people wouldn't mind paying more taxes if it was used then by the country to make their life better. Except it's not. They're paying more, but get less in return.

[FakeName123]

This is the socialist utopia. Everyone is equal if everyone is poor. France, Sweden and UK are a few years ahead of the pack. The other nations are just following.

twitter.com/.../1069017524401041408

[SirRexington]

@FakeName123 that's not how socialism works moron.

[FakeName123]

@SirRexington

Of course the first person with tons of life-experience comes around repeating his nonsense. And instead of bringing an argument, all that's left is an insult. Didn't your social studies profs managed to teach you more?

[YHL6965]

@FakeName123 Dude, France is what a lot of people would call socialist and Macron has been destroying what makes France socialist, hence the people protesting in the street.

[SirRexington]

@FakeName123 i don't have a professor. But I do not need one to understand political therory. Especially the very basics of it. And you can't compare life experience to someone you don't know.

And if my insults trigger you, then get over it. It doesn't make me any less accurate either. Do the workers socially own and control the means of production in France? Wait? They don't? Wow! I didn't know that, i guess they aren't socialist afterall...

[Anonymous]

Yeah its intense. France has been on a bad trajectory for a long time. It could boil over into other countries as well. Anyways, if you didn't see this coming, you're too dumb to live in my opinion. I remember someone posted a warning on here about massive uprisings coming soon to Europe and all the NPCs ridiculed them because FB and CNN told them everything is fine I guess. All I can say now is LOL.

[Tartersauce]

NPCs?

[Opinion Owner]

@Tartersauce Yes. If the term confuses and alarms you all I can say is that your little world is about to get a lot more confusing and alarming

[Electric_Dreams]

When was this? The someone posting a warning. Interested.

[Kenni]

C'est la grosse merde ici.
People are actually breaking things here and pretending it's for the yellow vest protest when really they're really taking advantage of the crowd to feed their hunger for vandalism.

[Kenni]

And no its not JUST because of the augmentation of the fuel price.
The movement was made for a day. It's now been 2 weeks and counting.

[esotericstory]

True, the troubles in France and the rest of Europe are piling up.

[LittleBird_]

Reminded me of Gezi Parkı protests. At first they were right but then terror symphatizers entered the stage and it has turned into a total mess. Seems like something similar is happening in France.

[Logorithim]

This is a highly regressive tax imposed by apparatchik Macron and his paymasters, meaning the protests are completely justfied.

The Communist infiltrators are being used as an excuse to try to shut down the protest.

I've always admired the French for their willingness to take to the streets to protest.

[esotericstory]

I agree but I am not 100% sure how long the violence can be justified.

[Logorithim]

It's being reported that the introduction of the tax in France is being delayed for six months, but the protestors have promised to keep up the pressure. Good for them! I hope they win this fight.

[esotericstory]

Me too.

[YHL6965]

I'm glad someone outside of France understood the movement that well. Kudos to you sir!

[YHL6965]

You forgot A LOT of things. The fuel prices is just the spark that ignited the powder, people are protesting generally against Macron's awful actions. He has been ruining public service, removing taxes for the riches while increasing general taxes, no overall improvements done with the money he got from the taxes and removing jobs, his government is filled with corrupted people and his arrogance has hit tremendous levels.

People protest against all of this, peacefully by blocking or slowing down traffic. Most of these protest were not declared and the government uses this as an excuse to gas people. Unfortunately, groups like Antifa or other anarchist leftist groups use this occasion to destroy and plunder shops. The mainstream medias are also using this violence to try to destabilize and criminalize the movement, but they fail.

Now, the violence is only increasing because Macron refuses to change his policies, despite the police running out of tear gas and being largely outnumbered and even pushed back sometimes. The only way for this not to escalate in something like a civil war would be to have no police against the people. If policemen joined the people, Macron would have no tool against the movement anymore.

[YHL6965]

Also, as you mentioned, the police work in horrible conditions : no go zones, lack of material, no respect for the profession...

[esotericstory]

Dude, I can't keep up to date with this mytake, so its just the status of how it began.

[YHL6965]

No problem with that, but these things were already known 2 days ago. I'm just here to "complete" your take as someone who has been "closer to the action"

[nightdrot]

Not to understate this, but been there, done that. As one historian put it, the French have always had something of a reputation for being ungovernable. Five republics, three different royal families, and in 1789 a revolution of which Chou en-lai famously said, in 1974, that it was too soon to see what its impact might be.

In that connection, it should not be forgotten that in 1968, the level of social upheaval in France reached such a pitch than no less a political titan than Charles DeGualle - the man who liberated France from the Nazi German (and Fascist Italian) yoke - was brought down. The French are, to say no more, unsentimental about their national leaders.

Beyond those broad observations, a few other points can be made. First, France is subject to the same populist movement that is sweeping Europe and indeed the United States. Indeed, these protests seem to be coming especially out of France's small towns and rural areas - not unlike the support for President Trump in the U. S.

Secondly, President Macron is politically weak in any case. His political party is barely 5 years old, his parliamentary supporters are generally not expert politicians - perish the thought! - and have made some amateurish mistakes and U-turns. This has made them much more susceptible to political pressure and this, in turn, tends to up the social temperature.

Macron's political views do not have deep roots either in France's rural areas, nor in its cities. (Few countries are as culturally dominated by their capitals as is France by Paris.) The result is an unpopular President who won office almost by accident and has no natural base of support to fall back on.

Macron is something of a classical liberal in the British tradition - free markets and the like. This in a country with no real tradition of classical liberal economics. So, again, he is implementing policies that, whatever their practical justifications, have no constituency.

In that context, Macron's proposed fuel tax makes some economic sense - deficit reduction, carbon tax, reduced dependence on energy imports - but they are apt to have a disproportionate impact on France's rural regions where mass transit is not an option. Thus, the current protests.

In terms of France's domestic politics, Macron has reached the limit of his political sway. He will have to proceed in incremental steps. In foreign policy, this is a weakening of French power within the EU. Add in a weak Germany. Rough seas to follow.

[YHL6965]

Macron only won because he has great communication skills. His main adversaries were destroyed by scandals during their campaign so he ended up against what people would call the alt-right and, since a lot of people fear the alt-right because they thing they are much worse than they actually are, a lot of people voted for him to counter the alt-right. A lot of people who voted for him did not want him, they just wanted the alt-right out.

[nightdrot]

@YHL6965 Well, a win is a win. It is true that Mr. Macron profited from the weaknesses of his opponents, but that does not mean that he could not make something of the opportunity.

By analogy, Ronald Reagan's 1980 landslide win was clearly a vote against then incumbent President Carter. His landslide win four years later was clearly an affirmative vote for Mr. Reagan. The fact is that he was able to - over the intervening four years - create a consensus for his policy agenda.

Mr. Macron seems not able to do that. Partly for reasons over which he has no control. (Europe in general is experiencing a populist wave that is antithetical to much that Mr. Macron is attempting to do.) Partly because of his own weaknesses as a political leader.

As far as his communications skills, to say that he won ONLY because of those skills is a little like saying that Churchill became Prime Minister because he was the only leader to fight appeasement. The right skills at the right time makes a.

[YHL6965]

Well, a campaign is primary based on communication. All of what he is doing was already told during th campaign, but he made sure not to talk about it too much to attract people.

[front2back]

Macron was a fucking loon yet the media acted like he would save France, because god-forbid Le Pen get elected and they get French Trump! Now that they convinced the mass sheep to vote for him and his government isn't doing what the people want, they now feel the need for mass protests and riots in the French tradition.
Pretty shitty situation but this is what happens when you let EU elitists control your country.

[FakeName123]

France, UK and Sweden are just a few years ahead of the pack. Make no mistake, the same thing is happening all over the EU zone and on purpose. Just recently Eurostat released the tax-increase within the EU. The tax-quote went up from 39,9% of the gdp during 2016 to 40,2% during 2017. Meanwhile inflation keeps taking it's course and tax-increases are demanded everywhere.

This is the socialist utopic all those "college-kids" wanted. Make everyone equal... equal in poverty. I'm from eastern Germany. We know here what it's like to be under socialist rule (that's also why most protests about the current policies happens in the east of Germany).
It's gonna crash. It's gonna crash hard. A giant takes a while to fall, but the entirety of the EU is about to collapse. You guys better be prepared, because once it does crash, it will be another mass-dying in the history books. Another graveyard for the communists. But hey, in 50 years we probably will have another generation of college kids saying "This wasn't real socialism. Real socialism was never tried"

[SirRexington]

I love how this went from a story updating the situation on the protests to hit piece on communists. Typical.

I'm not even am actual communist, it's just a silly meme. But still...

[esotericstory]

You should read into May '68. It was a Communist take over of France that failed largely. They have attempted to do so again since then.

[SirRexington]

I am very aware. I have researched communism for many years. France has successfully had a socialist not communist take over before and failed due to foreign takeover.

France, while not a socialist country or even close to it, does have a rich history of anarchist and socialist philosophers.

[SirRexington]

Also, I don't understand the conclusion that it failed miserably. I don't know where you got that from.

[esotericstory]

Well for us a successful violent revolution means a coup detat, but that didn't happen so it failed.

[SirRexington]

It wasn't a politcal movement, it was a social one that increased wages, gave women more freedom and helped givd workers more benefits.

So no, it wasn't a failure.

[Christiangirl99]

I wish we had protests like that here. The government stranggles the life out of the working class here in Britain and gets worse every year. Wages stay the same while inflation rises, there's a housing crisis, there are food banks springing up, the NHS is being run into the ground, taxes rise every year, bailiffs are seizing people's meagre processions, there are homeless people everywhere and millions are one bad week for being tossed out on the street.
Good on the French for putting the fear of God into their government.

[saltwater84]

Don't worry girl , UK people will protest soon , and it will be even more savage than the French because they don't protest any often.

[Christiangirl99]

@saltwater84 doubtful, we voted the Tories in again despite history and protest unimportant things like trump visting.

[YHL6965]

Don't forget the grooming gangs who are running free because police "lacks funding" while there are funds for a literal internet police to ban mean or anti-leftist comments.

[Christiangirl99]

@YHL6965 to be fair the police and establishment ignored it for PC reasons.

[YHL6965]

Exactly

[phonetic_au]

French people have balls & backbone kudos to the yellow vests

[ThisAndThat]

And the UN is to thank for every single bit of it.

[evm987]

As a foreign exchange student currently in France... this is terrifying. I don't really understand what's going on and why people are protesting, and it's just getting more and more scary as time goes on. I'm very thankful not to be in Paris right now.

[ThisAndThat]

The unrest in France was caused by the UN.

[Reggieray]

>By doing so they commit treason against the president. It is clear at this point this is not a normal protest action.

I'm curious.

Do the French soldiers and police swear an oath of allegiance to their president or to their constitution? There is a big difference...

[YHL6965]

The president is the ultimate commander of any armed forces. Refusing an order is sort of treason.

[Kaneki05]

Meh france can burn for all i care.
Tbh france need to be changed to a whole new country with new accents and language and legit everything.
France is awful and french is awful.

Maybe racist but can't help it just really don't like france any other place or languages or accents are fine.

Just need russia or something to just go oh fuck it we will take over france. And make it new russia.
Then i would be happy.

[Guanfei]

What do you know, kid? Start by not letting your own country changing to a PC paradise where people can rape little girls freely just because they're from the right community. Then you'll be able to criticize other countries.

[Kaneki05]

Ummm that don't happen

[Guanfei]

It happened, even tho your own police and government tried to covert it up, because stopping them was "racist".

[Kaneki05]

@Guanfei okay whatever, have no clue what your talking about nor care.

[Guanfei]

Well I didn't expect much from you anyway, but even without expecting anything, you're still disappointing.

[FakeName123]

@Kaneki05
He is right. Read up on the Rotherham case and how the investigator was send to a "diversity" training instead of investigating further and doing something months before it became public.

[Kaneki05]

@FakeName123 legit still have no clue what your talking about all i know is french is awful and i can't stand them.

Plus people get raped all over the world and get covered up by rich people and shit.

[Guanfei]

You're not just the half of a retard. Are you taking classes to be that stupid? Or is it natural?

[Kaneki05]

@Guanfei so you calling me a retard because it's a fact that people get raped everywhere and it gets covered up by people and i know that, but yet your trying to make out that one country is bad because it has done this even tho this legit happens everywhere.

Damn good point man. Plus never said i like my country, i am just saying i hate french legit has nothing to do with where i come from.

Heck if i came from france i would hate it and move somewhere else and i would rather be here than that place anyday even with everything shit over here.

[Guanfei]

No, you're a retard because I'm stating a fact about something that happened in your country and that shouldn't happen, and you're denying it, while insulting my country and my people you probably never even met.
You're an overwhelming idiot, and you're not even trying to hide it.

[Kaneki05]

@Guanfei okay ps not denying i legit just said rape happens everywhere and gets covered and i legit just said that my country has a lot of shitty things over here to.
So wtf are you talking about unless if your talikng about my first replay but i was just confused what you were on about and didn't really care so i just said no but now i get what your on about i legit put that happens everywhere so how is that denying it.

And yes i hate your country and you dumb accents and langue but like i said i am racist to french but that's me and that's never gonna change can't help it soz.

[Kaneki05]

And might be racist but at least i don't call people retards.

[YHL6965]

You're from the UK and you don't even know about the grooming gangs? Wow...

[Guanfei]

@Kaneki05 you don't call people retards because the void between your ears doesn't allow you to do that.
It would be the same as a 5yo child calling a bodybuilder weak. You're so low that calling you a retard is kinda a compliment.

[Kaneki05]

@YHL6965 jeez like gangs aren't everywhere that do the same. Next your going point out someone got murder over here like no shit that happens everywhere.

[YHL6965]

There is a difference between some isolated rapists and whole gangs roaming the streets not being arrested because "there is no polices funding", despite the UK having a literal internet police to ban controversial statements.

[Kaneki05]

Honestly this has gone on for to long.

I am racist towards france. And if your racist to england that is fine and if you not well then what is point in pointing out bad things in england if i don't care about that at all and never said i liked my country or that my country isn't shit as well i just said i am racist to french.

I can legit been in anywhere in the world or born from anywhere in the world and i would still be racist to france so it really don't matter where i am right now, so no point bringing that up.

[YHL6965]

The thing I don't understand is why? I mean, you totally have the right to hate us but why? I'm curious.

[Guanfei]

@YHL6965 He doesn't have a reason. He's a retard. That's all there is to it.

[Kaneki05]

@YHL6965 i have already stated it, it's just the accents and language i really don't like it. Plus paris the place of love yeah right...

I ain't racist enought just a hate a french person cause there french but i wouldn't be near them if they were talking like how they do.
And i know it's what they learn but i just really don't like it. Any other languages and accents i normally like.

[Kaneki05]

It's the same with gay people abouslty fine with them been gay and all but if they put on a dumb accent to show that there gay i would stay the hell away.
But otherwise aboustly fine

[YHL6965]

Oh, so it's mainly against the language. Were you forced to study French at school and hated that thing?^^

[Kaneki05]

@YHL6965 yes just the accents and language and yeai kinda was, i wanted to do german instead but i think i couldn't stand it before that.

[YHL6965]

I can understand. German is way more similar to English than French is. Plus, I think the French language is one of the most complex and complicated latin language with a shit ton of tenses and exceptions. The funny thing is that some teachers will teach you some words or tenses that are not even used anymore.

[Kaneki05]

@YHL6965 fairs, if france took a new a language and accent i would not be bothered at all.

[YHL6965]

I don't think this will ever happen because most French people suck at foreign tongues. I don't know if you have ever heard a French trying to speak English, it's hilariously gibberish.

[Jackblue]

They have severely damaged the Arch De Triumph and prevented the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from being lit. These protestors spit on their own history and hurt the tourist trade which is vital to Paris' economy. In the end the country will suffer because of them.

[Jackblue]

You claim it is only a few communist infiltrators who have created such violence, but the crowd is complacent.

[Jackblue]

Sorry it is spelled Arc de Triomphe

[esotericstory]

"You claim it is only a few communist infiltrators" not true, the people have indeed become violent yes.

[YHL6965]

Dude, that one the fist thing mainstream medias told against the gilets jaunes was the degradation of the Arc de Triomphe. True, this is a bad thing to desecrate a monument (there were only small tags, nothing more), but most gilets jaunes actually sat around the flame and sung the national anthem. It's not as bad as the medias could tell you

[Jackblue]

@YHL6965 maybe

[seth900]

More is yet to come now they signed UN migration pact so millions migrants will flood Europe.

[esotericstory]

We will reconquer what belongs to us.

[YHL6965]

We are already flooded, this will just spark a civil war and give strength to alt-right movements.

[ThisAndThat]

Exactly. The UN not only lead to it, but will escalate it too.

[Gedaria]

I think these people responsible for this should be arrested. Violence never works , the French voted this guy in live with it or go through proper channels if you have a problem. Keep this stupidity up and people are going to die …..

[Poormanscomedian]

France is going to fail as a state. Too much socialism and now things are out of control.

[YHL6965]

No, you really underestimate French people there buddy. What Macron is currently doing is exactly removing what you would call the socialist part of the country, hence people protesting. He is a huge economic liberal, which is something hated by a lot of people in France. He is also allowing the flood of migrants, which has been plaguing us for a while now.

[ThisAndThat]

The high prices of fuel cost of living and immigrants all brought on by the UN.

[JimRSmith]

Macron needs a good hard kick where it hurts.

[YHL6965]

More like a good bullet to the head.

[Ellie-V]

Hello

[RedRobin]

Nice take

[annaflorez838]

Nice take.