Anti-Macron protesters have a great view of the pandemic
In November 2018, autumnal, indescribable views of the streets of French cities blossomed with bright luminescent yellow colors. The “Yellow Vests” came out in the square, staged many thousands of demonstrations, demanded – and even found their way. Then it seemed that the “vests” should rise – and Emmanuel Macron flew out of the Elysee Palace. But time has passed – and the President of France is still in place and even has a good chance of being re-elected for a second term. However, the “yellow vests” practically disappeared from the field of view of the general public. What is happening now with the once massive movement?
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
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Who recently slapped President Macron shouting “Montjoy and Saint Denis! Down with macronism! “Lover of medieval historical reconstruction Damien Tarel was close to the movement of the yellow vests.
At least in court, the young man said he considered himself part of the yellow vest movement against the establishment: “I acted instinctively.”
This formula is basically generally applicable to the yellow vest movement with its amorphous political orientation.
Initially, the heterogeneous and absolutely amorphous movement of people dissatisfied with Macron's policy was united only by a slogan demanding the release of the President of the Republic.
“The movement is scattered from the far left to the far right.” There is no consensus on fundamental political issues, ”says historian Sylvain Buluk, author of Mensonges en gilet jaune (Lying in Yellow Vests), about the role of social media and false news in fanning the wrath of yellow vests. And the more time passed, the clearer the internal contradictions in the protest masses became.
The “face” of the protest movement is not easy to describe. At least in the early stages of its creation, the mass of “yellow vests” was either low-paid citizens or small business owners who are trying to make ends meet and feel that they are receiving only a small amount for their taxes.
In November 2018, an expert from the Ifop research organization described “yellow veterans” as “people who are too rich to receive social benefits but not rich enough to live well. Not the poorest, but just above that. “
According to Ifop, in the 2017 presidential election, most supporters of yellow vests voted for Marine Le Pen. In principle, many “yellow vests” were disappointed by traditional political parties, and the unions did not see much benefit for themselves.
The birthday of the new mass movement was November 17, 2018, when the first mass protest against the “yellow vests” took place on Saturday in Paris and other French cities.
More than a quarter of a million people wearing yellow vests stopped France. Protesters blocked access to roads and highways across the country to protest rising fuel prices. It is no coincidence that they chose reflective vests as their “uniform” – after all, every car owner should find this accessory.
The new movement had no official leaders, no clear demands and no structure. However, it quickly attracted activists with different and sometimes conflicting demands. The extremists who joined them and decided to organize violence and robberies under the “noise of the wave” were very angry at the “yellow vests”. They shattered and the shadow of the pogroms fell on the just demands of the French protesters.
The hottest performances of the “vests” and rioters who joined them were the events of December 1, 2018, when a hundred cars burned down in Paris and even the Arc de Triomphe was vandalized. According to the mayor of Paris, Anna Hidalgo, the damage caused by the pogroms amounted to 3-4 million euros. Hundreds of people (many of whom were visitors from the provinces as well as young people from the suburbs of the capital) were arrested.
The authorities had to take not only tens of thousands of police officers to the streets, but even armored vehicles.
The government eventually faced popular anger and reduced the tax, which led to higher fuel consumption prices. After weeks of rampage, President Macron announced a € 10 billion package of measures, including a significant increase in the minimum wage and the abolition of the overtime tax.
Many protesters were pleased with the government's “carrots.” But many were unhappy. Street events continued, but became increasingly faded and smaller.
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“This movement is now as it existed in 2018-2019, when for six months people in yellow vests blocked traffic on highways, not that they died, – comments Head of the Center for French Studies at the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Rubinsky … – It just didn't take shape. It has not become an independent political force. The movement was divided among the forces that today define the French political landscape. The fact that President Macron's scandalous incident slapped him during his trip across the country is nonsense. The attacker had a relatively distant relationship to the “yellow vests” he referred to. It is a mental rather than a political case.
“Yellow vests” as a formalized movement with its own program, leaders, organizational structure, did not take place. Of course, memories of him and the very fact of his existence are taken into account by the French president and other political forces. But as an independent movement, it did not succeed.
– Because his social base was absolutely definitive, it did not contribute much to the crystallization of the “yellow vests” as independent political forces.
They were mostly members of the lower middle class. Not the most disadvantaged people, but people who lived and worked in the suburbs and countryside.
When the country's president decided to increase the price of fuel on the basis of his environmental considerations, they took to the streets. Because without a car, a person living in a small town or village cannot go to work or to a store (because he is in the village) or take them to school and pick up children from there. People living outside large congolmerizations felt on the fringes of society and protested when they refused to accept the fact that they could no longer use their cars normally.
As a result, the government made concessions to the protesters. President Macron's reaction is well known – he held a nationwide debate, traveled around the country, spoke in small town halls. Now, in completely new conditions, not related to the “yellow vests” as such, but in connection with the problems caused by coronavirus and its consequences, he traveled all over the country again. And a recent slap came at a time when the new election was ten months old. And now regional and departmental elections to local governments are taking place.
The protest potential of the “yellow vests” led nowhere. But as independent, structured, with leaders and a program, this movement did not take place and remained amorphous, as it had from the very beginning. “
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There was a coronavirus pandemic – and with it blocking, restricting mass gatherings. No wonder the” yellow vests “disappeared from the streets.”It's been a long time since I've worn a yellow vest,” movement activist Priscillia Ludoski told The Local in September 2020, admitting that protests have declined in recent years. “The pandemic has slowed down most things.”
“The movement is much smaller, much less active and much more fragmented than it was in the beginning,” Sylvain Buluk, author of the book on vests, told The Local. “A pandemic will separate them rather than unite them,” the expert predicted.
However, vest activists hope that a coronavirus outbreak may play into their hands. One of their leaders, Jerome Rodriguez, called the pandemic “the best ally,” as COVID-19 proved, “a perspective on the degradation of the health care system and the limitations of the capitalist system.”
The activist seems to argue in spirit The worse the better, ”he believes, the impending socio-economic downturn will confirm the belief of the Yellow Vest movement:“ As the crisis approaches, people who have prospered financially and have never experienced trouble will fail. “
– It all depends on how public opinion perceives the results of the struggle of the president, the government, the ruling majority against coronavirus and its sanitary and socio-economic consequences, – comments Yuri Rubinsky. – Today, the protest potential is not at a critical level. Local elections should show that Macron's ruling party has revised a number of its policies in the light of the changed situation. And the fact that the president decided to lower the level of quarantine restrictions was a gesture, because people were very seriously concerned (and had a reason) for the unhygienic consequences.
Finally, Emmanuel Macron went to unblock the socio-economic situation to some extent – and this was perceived quite positively.