New presidency complicates unpopular reforms
Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential election was as expected as the protests against the outcome of the second round of voting. But the scale of the anti-presidential demonstrations, judging by the response of both the police and ordinary citizens, turned out to be much larger than expected. The end of the presidential campaign could mean a new take-off of the “yellow vests”, which have long been preparing to return to the socio-political field.
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“Away with Macron, Robin of the Rich “is one of the protesters' slogans, based on the president's nickname in the left-wing press; Robin des Bourges is in line with Robin des Bois (French Robin Hood). Photo: AP
Protest: From the web to the streets
After gaining more than 58% of the votes in the second round, the incumbent French leader moved to a new term – a situation that developed for the first time since 2002. Jacques Chirac is re-elected president.
However, as in Chirac's case, re-election is not at all an indicator of the population's stable sympathy for the head of state.
Macron's rival Marine Le Pen managed to significantly reduce the difference compared to the 2017 campaign (then the difference was 32.2%, now only 17.08%) and almost a third of the French simply ignored the second round (participation barely exceeded 71%). , we did not find between the two candidates who would meet their aspirations.
The situation is eloquently characterized by the results of an online survey conducted almost immediately after the closure of polling stations in France. According to a survey of more than 1,300 people (considered a relatively representative sample in sociology), at least 63% of the country's citizens would not want to see the Republic on March, the Macron party, most of which previously provided it with almost no decision-making power, a leading force in parliament. The parliamentary elections scheduled for June will certainly not be easy for the president and his associates.
Even more clearly than statistics, however, Macron's dissatisfaction is evidenced by the riots that broke out on April 24 and continued here and there all night. French police, preparing for the protests, did not expect such a “scope”, according to lawmakers.
The protesters with banners took to the streets not only in Paris, but also in Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Toulouse and a dozen smaller cities. The biggest protests, of course, took place in the capital, where the number of protesters, according to the Ministry of the Interior, is in the thousands.
The leitmotif of all the events is the slogan “Neither Macron nor Le Pen” written on many posters, by the shouting of which the participants of the demonstrations quickly transferred the conditionally peaceful marches to the “hot scene”. The most ardent protesters set fire to garbage cans and provoked clashes with the police, threw stones and shouted insults. Initially, the number of law enforcement officers was increased to passively limit actions, thus simply preventing “splashes” of parades around the city. However, the police eventually switched from some kind of protection to the demonstrations to their actual suppression: batons and tear gas were used; dozens of people have been detained, although according to official figures, most of them are already at large.
Rising petrol is driving dissatisfied people
The confrontation at the end of 2018, when the actions of the so-called “yellow vests” (distinctive clothing) swept through France, has not yet taken place. In addition to gas and batons, the police also used water cannons and counted hundreds of detainees. Over time, these protests subsided, although their subsequent “relapses” were observed at the slightest opportunity, whether it was a curtailment against COVID or another unpopular initiative by the authorities.
Now few doubt that a first-class “vest return” is just around the corner. If previously their actions were largely provoked by fuel pricing policy, now the problem has changed from narrow-profile (affecting truckers and taxi drivers) to general, and as a result, complaints have increased.
Gasoline and diesel in France quickly, Although not at an American or British pace, they are becoming more expensive, despite the country's popularity of electric cars (and among the top five European leaders in terms of electric cars or hybrids), this will hit ordinary citizens' wallets.
In the end, the delivery of products from suppliers to the store still remains tied to the usual car message, and the fuel surcharge increases the final price of the goods on the shelf. All this is exacerbated by Macron's relentless stance on the embargo on energy supplies from Russia (Paris is less accommodating than, for example, Berlin) – such a ban will further speed up fuel prices.
As one resident, MK Paris told Annette Moreau that you would now sometimes have to pay up to € 3 (more than 300 rubles) for a liter of petrol in the French capital, almost twice as much as the relatively recent January prices.
“Now it's hard to tell who the vests are and who they're not,” said our partner, protesting the night of the 25th and their prospects. – Everyone is dissatisfied that there was no choice, we saw the same candidates as five years ago, knowing what they were capable of. As long as fuel, taxi and food prices rise, the protests will not stop. There are many groups on the smallest districts in Paris on the social networks, it describes when and where to gather, all this will continue in May, and I think the police will not be able to intervene, but only anger. In addition, people from other cities often come to Paris on their own and now these (convoys) are preparing. “
Vests on the go
The threat to the French capital is not so much the protest potential of Paris as the mobility of protesters from other cities. Even in support of overseas protests – Canadian “freedom convoys” – French truckers and farmers with agricultural equipment flocked to Paris. We are now talking about the fate of our own country, and the protesters are already often called “Vests on the March” on the web, ironically over the name of Macron's party and suggesting that the “vest” is the Republic.
Economic difficulties go hand in hand with a number of Macron's dubious social initiatives, notably raising the retirement age to 65. Despite the fact that concessions on this issue (and all the presidential candidates tried to play it) could reduce tensions, the president remains surprisingly adamant and argues for economic viability.
The only thing reassuring opponents of pension reform is that this process should be fully completed by 2031. This means that the last phase will clearly not be for Macron's term – the French president cannot be re-elected twice in a row.
Of course, Macron is trying his best to “ukecat” the voters. So when he talked about fuel problems, he promised to subsidize the prices of gasoline and diesel – a certain percentage of the cost at gas stations will be paid by the state. The Spanish authorities have already started to use a similar experience against the background of the protests there, but the subsidy program is still valid only until June: after that, there will simply be no money left in the compensation budget. The French leader has also promised not to push for unpopular reforms solely by presidential decree, but will do his best to get parliamentary approval – so there can be no question of a fundamental policy loosening.
economic framework and acquires a specific political connotation. According to its leaders, the movement benefited from what was previously considered a disadvantage – decentralization, and thus the ability to absorb potential protest forces.
“Vests” are already used as a name for all protesters against Macron, “she said. Annette Moreau. René Crepe, a participant in the Toulouse demonstrations, reminds her. “We are taking to the streets for a decent life, not for fuel,” he told one of the French television channels.