The Yellow Vests are actively preparing a demonstration this Saturday in Paris. It is announced as ultra-violent and could spark a major political crisis.
Indeed, it’s hard to see what reasonable responses the government could offer to a new wave of violence aimed at its very legitimacy.
Nothing excludes a major tectonic movement, which now borders on a form of sedition.
Reduction of taxes, increase in social benefits, removal of Macron… The demands of the “Yellow Vests,” whether absurd or incoherent, show the limitations of this movement.
When interviewed, on television sets or by the roadside, the “Yellow Vests” claim their action is a rescue, a collective deliverance. On the other hand, there is a surge of resentment in the form of “French bashing,” depicting a country that is oppressive and overloaded with taxes.
They may not have been called by any god, but they say they want to rescue the French from tax pressure and the authoritarian Macron.
Where is their legitimacy? Is it in the name of a common agreement found on social networks that we should organize our democracy?
Certainly, democracy is the freedom to think, to express oneself, to demonstrate. Yes, to demonstrate, a concept that seems entirely foreign to the “Yellow Vests” when one looks at the obstruction operations first, then the chaos on the Champs-Elysées.
Contagion to other categories? High school students protest against their minister’s reforms. Paramedics continue their movement against article 80 of the social security financing law. The CGT and FO transport unions have called for a strike starting Sunday.
On one side, opposition parties are trying to capitalize on the movement’s protagonists and ideas as best as they can. On the other, the majority appears overwhelmed and blames extremist parties while maintaining its division between the camp of good (progressives?) and the camp of evil (populists?).
These various announcements highlight the extremely risky nature of the general atmosphere in the country.
