• Welcome to the Internet Infidels Discussion Board.

Yellow Jacket uprising in France

Again, people. If you hit the paywall, open the link in an incognito window.
 
southernhybrid said:
Here's one from the AP that was published in WaPo yesterday. WaPo doesn't always allow nonsubscriber to read linked articles, like the NYT does.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/paris-protesters-try-to-revive-yellow-vest-movement/2019/01/05/6bed186c-10ea-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html?utm_term=.ec44cb68481d


The march on the eighth consecutive Saturday of yellow vest protests had been declared in advance and approved, in contrast to some illegal December demonstrations that degenerated into vandalism, looting and chaos.

The atmosphere mostly was calm, but turned when some protesters tried to cross the river on a pedestrian bridge not on the official route from City Hall to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Police used clubs and tear gas, then held the bridge in a standoff while violence broke out.

Some confrontations between police and protesters took place in other cities around France, with tear gas fired in Bordeaux in the southwest and in Rouen in Normandy.
Click to expand...

So, there are somef US news sources that are following this movement in France.
Click to expand...
The yellow vest movement is sometimes mentioned in U.S. news but news coverage concentrates on U.S. politics. How many stories are covered in a normal newscast or issue of NYT about some politician's view of Trump, 'the wall', a Trump tweet, who is planning to run in 2020, what AOC said about something, what someone said about AOC? Then, how many stories in a normal newscast or issue of NYT cover what is happening in Paris or Venezuela to keep Americans informed on events in other parts of the world that can be major world changing events. Something really serious is happening in France that could lead to even something as extreme as a move to exit the EU like the Brexit movement did or even another French Revolution... and yet few Americans are aware of the seriousness of the problems in France but, by golly, they have been repeatedly and continually informed by the news media about U.S. political wrangling and finger pointing - like, for instance, politicians' differing views of 'the wall'.

The overwhelming majority of what is covered in the news will mean little if anything by this time next month and nothing by this time next year - its purpose is, like fan mags, to make a profit and titillating the public works.
 
It looks like the yellow vest movement is becoming much more serious. Macron took a tougher stance against them which resulted in even greater destruction and assaults by the demonstrators. Police today have been attacked and beaten, more autos set on fire, and a forklift used to bust into a government ministry compound. Government workers had to flee out the back door for safety.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-against-yellow-vests-backfires-idUSKCN1P00KG

Meanwhile in the U.S. news media reports; A significant amount of coverage time was spent showing that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responds to critics of a video showing her dancing during her college days. ... Oh yeah, also in the news coverage - Elizabeth Warren drinks a beer in her recently released public relations video.
 
Last edited:
I thought the yellow jacket movement was dying down. Granted, I didn't pay attention to the news in the last couple of weeks. I'm kind of glad that this isn't the case.
 
skepticalbip said:
southernhybrid said:
Here's one from the AP that was published in WaPo yesterday. WaPo doesn't always allow nonsubscriber to read linked articles, like the NYT does.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/paris-protesters-try-to-revive-yellow-vest-movement/2019/01/05/6bed186c-10ea-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html?utm_term=.ec44cb68481d


The march on the eighth consecutive Saturday of yellow vest protests had been declared in advance and approved, in contrast to some illegal December demonstrations that degenerated into vandalism, looting and chaos.

The atmosphere mostly was calm, but turned when some protesters tried to cross the river on a pedestrian bridge not on the official route from City Hall to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Police used clubs and tear gas, then held the bridge in a standoff while violence broke out.

Some confrontations between police and protesters took place in other cities around France, with tear gas fired in Bordeaux in the southwest and in Rouen in Normandy.
Click to expand...

So, there are somef US news sources that are following this movement in France.
Click to expand...
The yellow vest movement is sometimes mentioned in U.S. news but news coverage concentrates on U.S. politics. How many stories are covered in a normal newscast or issue of NYT about some politician's view of Trump, 'the wall', a Trump tweet, who is planning to run in 2020, what AOC said about something, what someone said about AOC? Then, how many stories in a normal newscast or issue of NYT cover what is happening in Paris or Venezuela to keep Americans informed on events in other parts of the world that can be major world changing events. Something really serious is happening in France that could lead to even something as extreme as a move to exit the EU like the Brexit movement did or even another French Revolution... and yet few Americans are aware of the seriousness of the problems in France but, by golly, they have been repeatedly and continually informed by the news media about U.S. political wrangling and finger pointing - like, for instance, politicians' differing views of 'the wall'.

The overwhelming majority of what is covered in the news will mean little if anything by this time next month and nothing by this time next year - its purpose is, like fan mags, to make a profit and titillating the public works.
Click to expand...



I disagree. Of course American news sources are going to cover American news more thoroughly than foreign news, but I think the NYT has done a decent job of covering world news. There was another short piece that I read this morning that described the movement this weekend in France. There are fewer people directly involved, but it's becoming more violent and it appears as if the government is cracking down more on the violence. What more do you need to know?

There was also a very long piece in WaPo this morning that covered the impending crisis that may occur due to Brexit. It gave a lot of details, including how this may impact trade with the Dutch. I really don't understand your complaints, other than you aren't satisfied with American news coverage, while I think it's pretty good. So, I'll leave it at that. We'll have to agree to disagree.
 
Maier said:
I thought the yellow jacket movement was dying down. Granted, I didn't pay attention to the news in the last couple of weeks. I'm kind of glad that this isn't the case.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the board.
 
Maier said:
I thought the yellow jacket movement was dying down. Granted, I didn't pay attention to the news in the last couple of weeks. I'm kind of glad that this isn't the case.
Click to expand...
Even paying attention to the news in the U.S. wouldn't have informed you otherwise. If you are interested in what is going on in the world then you have to read international news sources. It is quite different than a few decades ago when the U.S. news media was one of the best places to find world news.

There were fewer demonstrators over the Christmas holidays than the week before but a surge after. Also, much earlier the demonstrators were pretty much concentrated in Paris. As time has gone on with no resolution, it has spread to cities across the country. There have even been yellow vest sympathy demonstrations in Germany.

In other news not covered by the U.S. media; Venezuela may be on the verge of war with Brazil and with Columbia. At least troops have been sent to their borders because of the growing political tensions between the countries. Some camps of Venezuelan refugees in Brazil have been raided and the occupants forced out. Several countries including Canada are demanding that Maduro not be sworn in again because they see the election just held as fraudulent. In any case, there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and an estimated two and a half million have fled the country as refugees.
 
Last edited:
This week's yellow vest demonstrations in France was the largest yet staged - it is growing in numbers and intensity. This weekend 60% of the speed cameras were destroyed across the country. The latest plan I have heard from the yellow vests is that they are planning to stage a bank run which could cripple France's economy.

The yellow vest demonstrations have now spread to nineteen countries other than France, now including even demonstrations in Canada. I don't see any agreed to specific 'cause' other than people being really pissed off at their government's policies and politicians.

And yet the mass media in the U.S. still only gives occasional short mention that it is even happening. Focusing instead on political personalities and their spins, sorta like 'People Magazine' covers Hollywood personalities.
 
Last edited:
One of you mentioned this had spread to Canada. I searched Canadian sources of news and all I could find was a story from December. It said that a couple of hundred people were protesting the carbon tax and immigration. That's hardly a movement and barely newsworthy. Do any of you have any Canadian sources that imply this is a growing movement in Canada?
 
The NYT had another article from Reuters two days ago about the French movement. In no way did it relate to anything going on in the US. It was largely about how Le Pen is trying to use the movement for her own purposes.

https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/01/13/world/europe/13reuters-france-politics-farright.html

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched her campaign for the May 26 European Parliament election on Sunday with an appeal to the broad "yellow vest" protest movement that has rattled the government.

Le Pen urged the tens of thousands of protesters who have staged weekly protests against President Emmanuel Macron since November to make the EU vote a referendum on his policies.

"In the context of the healthy popular revolt of the yellow vests, this election offers a chance to end this crisis born of the intransigence and contempt ... of an incompetent president whose behavior is disturbing," Le Pen told an election rally for her National Rally ("Rassemblement National") party.

Born from a grassroots protest against high fuel prices, the yellow vests have become a broad and sometimes violent movement demanding more social justice for low-skilled workers left behind by globalisation, deregulation and EU integration.
Click to expand...

If you have better sources, please share them. Will this movement open the doors for far right populism?

I read a lot of world news, and there's so much going on in the world that it's hard to keep up, especially considering the craziness going on in the US.
 
This isn't specifically the yellow vest movement but it is an indication that the world seems to be going through a populist 'revolution'. In many countries around the world, people are beginning to strongly express their dissatisfaction with their governments and their politicians. This demonstration in India is the largest ever, ~200 million protesters. I haven't been able to find consistent reporting on what they are demanding because every news outlet claims something different. Some sources have reported it was a revolt over an alcohol ban, this one calls it a left-wing union movement.

I found it interesting because I can't imagine being a politician in India (or anywhere) and knowing that there are 200 million people pissed off enough with what I was doing to stage such a demonstration.

https://report.az/en/other-countries/nearly-200-million-people-protesting-in-india/

Nearly 200 million people protesting in India

Baku. 8 January. REPORT.AZ/ Nearly 200 million people in India are holding a two-day nationwide protest that took off on Tuesday upon the call of a number of national labor unions and left-wing movements.

Report informs citing NDTV that the protest participants demand increase in minimal wage and pensions in different industrial spheres, improvement of social conditions, creation of jobs for the unemployed youth and set other demands.

... snip ...
Click to expand...
 
I "blame" social networks for this. People could not organize protests before twitter/facebook/whatsup/etc, now they can.
In India there was epidemics of assaults on random people because of the fake messages on social networks, lots of random women were killed.
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/world/europe/macron-yellow-vests-menace.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fworld&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

The above article gives the impression that the protest is mostly about tax cuts and getting rid of Macron. There has been a lot of violence directed against journalists, and individual members of parliament, including some racism directed against members from Africa.
 
The common factor everywhere is dissatisfaction with stagnant or falling wages, shitty working conditions, financial/job insecurity and inequality.

"Globalisation" or "globalists" are commonly identified as the culprit by both hard right and left populists.

Centre-left parties everywhere, having capitulated to neoliberalism, have no come back... hence Trump, Brexit, Marine LePen, Five Star, Orban, Bolsonaro.. ugly proto-fascism gaining ground everywhere. The gillets jaunes could go either way.
 
Well, the big issue of course is that anybody can put on a yellow vest because everybody has one. That's how the whole thing originated. So, if I'm some kind of white nationalist or just a guy who likes throwing rocks, I can get away with stuff I used to be afraid to do by donning the attire and blending into the crowd. There's nothing special about this aspect of the movement, as all truly populist movements have this problem. BLM in America is another good example, with a core of militants and a loose contingent of opportunists who co-opt the label when it suits them. It's only the movements bankrolled by corporate interests that stay pure and on-message all the time.
 
Whatever street protesters want is probably bad.

Good rule of thumb here: Whatever the Yellowjackets are protesting against is probably a good thing to support. And whatever they are protesting in favor of is something bad, for France or any other country.

Or, for street protest movements generally, the ones which turn to violence are likely wrong (in their demands) 99.9% of the time. While the ones which remain peaceful are wrong only about 90% of the time.

This rule of thumb seems to fit virtually all the protest movements in recent years.

A good candidate, or political party, would be the one whose platform is to do exactly the opposite of whatever the latest screaming street protesters are demanding.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom