French 'yellow vests' defy Macron again in tense protests

[oberliner]

Source: Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of “yellow vest” demonstrators marched in Paris and other French cities on Saturday in protests that brought sporadic clashes with police and suggested that President Emmanuel Macron has yet to defuse public discontent.

On the 11th consecutive weekend of action against the government, 69,000 people took to the streets, including 4,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said, down from an estimated 84,000 demonstrators across the country last Saturday.

Marches were mostly peaceful but there were incidents in several towns, including in the capital, where an eye injury to a well-known “yellow vest” activist added to recent controversy over police violence.

The protesters - who wear the fluorescent jackets French motorists are required to carry in their cars - came out onto the streets in November to oppose a planned fuel tax rise. Their movement then developed into a broader revolt against the government that mobilized tens of thousands each weekend.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-protests/french-yellow-vests-defy-macron-with-fresh-protests-idUSKCN1PK0HT

[nycbos]

1. Willing to bet Russia is behind some of these folks

[oberliner]

2. What makes you think that?

[jberryhill]

3. There have been previous discussions of that

[oberliner]

10. What is that picture from?

Is there an associated article with more info?

[jberryhill]

12. .

« Macron pute à Juifs !!! » : Gilets Jaunes attention à la dérive antisémite où certains veulent vous pousser

https://www.europe-israel.org/2018/12/macron-pute-a-juifs-gilets-jaunes-attention-a-la-derive-antisemite-ou-certains-veulent-vous-pousser/



I assume you can read it.

[oberliner]

13. Wow - some pretty vile anti-semitism

The article seems to indicate that extreme antisemites have either infiltrated or are a part of this protest movement. I will try to research more. Thank you for the link.

[paleotn]

22. Bingo.

It's Marie Le Pen all over again. Seems when one route doesn't pan out, the Russians move on to another.

[PSPS]

14. Sadly, these defensive posts indicate how insidious russian"active measures" are

This is happening everywhere in the West: Find/create a divisive social issue (or many,) amp up "anger" via inflammatory social media/hate radio/etc., et, voila! You have a growing mob of "angry people." Next, attack the political establishment "by an outsider" who is also "angry." The mob of "angry people" latch on to a "leader" who is attractive to them because "he's angry, just like me!!111!!" Heavily amplify anything related to the angry mob via thousands of russian social media bots on twitter, facebook, youtube, etc.

End game: Trump, LePen, Bolsonaro, Gauland, Brexit, NATO breakup, etc.

[bahrbearian]

5. Russia is behind everything Don't cha know

[fascisthunter]

7. That's not what the poster said though

[BannonsLiver]

18. Do you think they were involved in the 2016 election?

[bluestarone]

6. What makes you think they wern't?

[oberliner]

9. I don't have an opinion one way or another

If there is evidence of Russian involvement, I would be interested in learning more about that.

[jberryhill]

16. .

https://www.wired.com/story/co-opting-french-unrest-spread-disinformation/

On Twitter, outsiders with little or no association with France or French politics—including far-right figureheads, conspiracy theorists, and pro-Kremlin influence networks—are capitalizing on interest in the gilets jaunes to spread disinformation, push state-sponsored propaganda, and advance their own political agendas.

————-

People are way too simplistic in their understanding of how this works. The fact that a small number of people mounted initial scattered protests over the gas tax was organic. The game is in promoting discord by finding existing conflicts, attaching them to wider agendas, and attempting to amplify them into a larger and more effectively polarizing force.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

23. Kremlin propagandist Konstantin Rykov has all but admitted...

...the Russians are heavily invested in the Yellow Vest protests.

[rockfordfile]

11. I agree

The fascists are dangerous to their country. Just like the fascists are dangerous to our country.

[BannonsLiver]

19. Here's one of many stories that can be found online

A good deal of these people are just good old fashioned xenophobes who if they lived in Britain would have voted for Brexit or Trump or Jill Stein if they lived here.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-12-08/pro-russia-social-media-takes-aim-at-macron-as-yellow-vests-rage

[mountain grammy]

4. Wish I knew more about what's happening

the fact that Macron is responding tells me "the people" have a legit complaint..

Thanks for posting.

[oberliner]

8. So do I

It has been very difficult to get a handle on what is going on there and why.

[jberryhill]

15. What was, for example, the chief complaint of the teabaggers here?

It’s very similar to that. A diffuse ball of grievances channeled into a generalized anger at the current government, with no specific agenda, policies, or candidates (yet). Marine Le Pen, of course, has much to say in their support.

https://frenchly.us/marine-le-pen-tries-to-rally-the-gilets-jaunes/

[oberliner]

21. Thank you for providing this information

It is very informative.

[GulfCoast66]

25. But you somehow left out the overriding grievance of both the Tea Party assholes,

And the continuing Yellow Vest protestors...

People of color. Same shit, different country.

[christx30]

17. They had a problem over a spike in

gas taxes. The protests got Macron to back down. There are a lot of grievances, and they are expressing them. I say more power to them.

[bahrbearian]

20. Gas Taxes was the trigger

It started simmering with Tax cuts for the Rich and Businesses, Austerity.

[christx30]

24. Here is something I pulled off Imgur,

one person's perspective:

"My wife is French & in France & said there is misunderstanding of the Yellow Vest movement. She said: "I am seeing a lot of wrong information, so I prefer to explain a bit better: It is not just the tax on fuel; it is mostly the
Macron Govt cut the retirement paycheck for everybody (including my parents), and they increased gas and electric bills in all homes, all taxes increased (property taxes, habitation, city taxes, income taxes), and cut the taxes for the
ultra rich (ISF). Macron does not care for the ecology. He did not increase gas tax to protect earth but to make more money. One of the best french environmental activists, Nicolas Hulot, was Ecology Minister under Macron but he
resigned because it was impossible to do anything sincerely for the environment in the Macron government. Also, fuel was already over the equivalent of $5 per gallon with high taxes, and most people already drive very small cars.
Increasing the tax is very regressive, hits the poor hardest. They cant get to work. Another approach to ending oil addiction is needed.
Altogether, it is ultimately class warfare."

"Macron gave huge tax breaks to the very richest and then tried to put the climate burden on the working class. So the working class are rioting. They're not protesting globalism, they're protesting oligarchy and the domination of the
very wealthiest. We live under class warfare and we lay down and take it. Time for REAL CHANGE."

[jberryhill]

26. Do you know this person?

If not, why should I believe this person?

[bahrbearian]

28. Yes that's my understanding. Sounds familiar

[McKim]

27. Spent Two Months in Paris

I spent two months in Paris and talked with a lot of people. They are fed up with the tax breaks for the rich, rising prices, benefit cuts and the French are not a people who will stand by and take it. Macron is a neoliberal who installed more austerity. Macron and his wife moved into the Elysee Palace and the china wasn’t good enough for them, so they ordered the most expensive set and this was not well seen by your average French person. The French are truly angry and they deserve better. It doesn’t take a Russian plot to motivate them to act in their own best interests.
There may be some right wingers or agent provacateurs who are causing violence to discredit this movement.