For a month now, news from the besieged by fire and smoke of burning tires of Paris, where crowds of people in yellow vests are blocking roads, smashing shops and burning cars, demanding the resignation of the French government, have not been leaving the front pages of the world's leading media for a month. Large-scale anti-government protests, known today as “fuel protests” began in mid-November, and since then have not subsided, but only intensified.
Yellow Vests Movement
Demonstrations of yellow vests forced French President Emanuel Macron to freeze the scandalous decision to raise fuel taxes, raise the minimum wage and introduce emergency socio-economic measures in response to the catastrophic losses that Paris suffered as a result of the protests.
But what kind of demonstrations are these? Who are the "yellow vests", and why did they manage to force the government to make concessions? What were the reasons for the anti-government protests?
What is going on in France?
Since November 17, 2018, France is in a fever from large-scale anti-government protests, which are concentrated in the center of Paris. Very often, demonstrations end in clashes with the police, pogroms of entire neighborhoods, and arson of cars.
As a result of the confrontation, two protesters died, about 800 people were injured in clashes with the police, more than 1, 300 people were detained, some of them are behind bars.
Who are the yellow vests?
So the media called the participants in anti-government protests in France. This name comes from their appearance. All protesters wear reflective vests.
According to traffic regulations in France, each car must have a reflective vest. In case the car breaks down, the driver must appear on the road in a vest so that other drivers understand that he is in an emergency. Therefore, almost all drivers in France have yellow vests.
The protesters decided to use these vests as their uniforms and recognition clothes in the crowd. Thus, they express their protest against the decisions of the government, which hit drivers the most.
Why did the "yellow vests" go out to protest?
The reason for the protests of the "yellow vests" was the decision of the French government to increase excise taxes on fuel. This immediately hit drivers who have their own cars, as this decision automatically led to higher gas prices.
Since January 2019, the French government has planned an increase in gas prices by 2.9 cents, and diesel prices by 6.5 cents. The increase is due to the introduction of a new tax - the so-called "green" tax. It was introduced by the French government in accordance with the commitments made by France under the international Paris climate agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The tax should be an incentive for people not to use cars with an internal combustion engine, but to switch to electric cars or change to public transport. According to the French government, this "green tax" was supposed to provide budget revenues of € 3.9 billion over the next year. These funds should have been directed mainly to close the budget deficit, as well as to finance the country's transition to a more environmentally friendly transport system.
The government’s decision to increase excise taxes on fuel and a new tax provoked large-scale anti-government protests by the population. Most of all, these decisions hit car drivers from the provinces, who go to work in big cities every day and cannot switch to public transport due to the fact that it is practically absent in the rural area.
Fuel prices rose only a few cents. Is this what really caused such a massive protest?
Of course not. The increase in excise taxes on fuel was simply the last straw in the relations between society and the authorities, which have been aggravated for many decades. Problems grew and deepened every year and after every election. The main ones are as follows:
- · Widening the gap between rich and poor;
- · Rising taxes and prices for food and gasoline;
- · Economic stagnation and low growth rates, worsening welfare of the French;
- · The crisis of representative democracy as a concept in the context of the scientific and technological revolution;
- · The obsolescence of the ideas of the Fifth French Republic and the demand for updating the elites and the political system itself;
- · The isolation of the French elites from the population mentally, culturally and socially.
Since the death of the long-standing post-war leader of France, Charles de Gaulle, in France there have repeatedly been discussions about reforming the political system, which had its drawbacks. Some people advocated amendments to the Constitution and the proclamation of the Sixth Republic, for example, to introduce a parliamentary republic and cancel the presidency. Actually, therefore, it is not surprising that during the protests of the "yellow vests" some people demanded reform of the system and weakening the role of the president with the introduction of elements of direct democracy (referenda, popular votes, mechanisms for recalling deputies, etc.).
In addition, some of the French believe that their political elites are too "torn off" from the people. For example, many of the deputies, ministers and officials are rich and, according to people, are not concerned about the problems of ordinary citizens. Rich French pay taxes in offshore zones, for example, in neighboring Luxembourg, while ordinary people are forced to pay out of their pockets without any benefits and bonuses. There are many such examples, and recently they have split the French society. People do not know whom to vote for. They are looking for new leaders who can solve complex problems in a simple way.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2017, 24% voted for the party of Emmanuel Macron. At the same time, for the national populists, Marine le Pen - 21.30%, for the left-radicals of Jean-Luc Melanson - 19.58%, and for the right-wing conservatives from the Republicans party, 20%. Moreover, almost 25% of citizens did not come to the polls. As you can see, almost an equal number of citizens voted for each of the political forces. A quarter of the population did not come to the polls. This picture reflects how deep the schism and uncertainty of the French regarding politics has become.
In recent years, the French public has raised the issue of control over power. With every election in France, voter turnout is getting lower. People are more quickly disappointed with their rulers and go to protests. Emmanuel Macron in just a year lost more than 20% of its rating. Some of his voters believe that he tricked them when he promised to strengthen social justice in the state. And the French have not so many mechanisms for controlling power. In 2017, the government passed a law on secrecy of business information, which made it difficult for journalists to conduct investigations, including dubious corruption schemes. This pissed off people who began to lose faith in traditional instruments of public control, such as the media. At some point, the population in France (and in Europe as a whole) it is suddenly clear that neither the president, nor the government, nor members of parliament represent their interests. And elections are just a waste of time. Not surprisingly, the "yellow vests" were very afraid to appoint the official leaders of their movement, who would negotiate with the authorities. They believed that they would very quickly go to a deal with the government and become politicians, thereby abandoning their fellows and becoming a status higher than them.
Therefore, the protests in France are more than just about gas prices. This is a long-standing confrontation between society and the authorities and an attempt to rethink the foundations of the functioning of the French Republic.
I constantly hear about some protests, strikes and demonstrations in France. What is wrong with these French?
Protests, demonstrations, strikes - all this is part of the political culture of France. As soon as a problem arises, the French take to the streets, believing that this is the most reliable way to express their protest and force the government to make concessions. The protest street culture has become quite firmly established in France, since the time of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century.
