The mobilization of the Yellow Vests, with the sole slogan of a general blockade to address the social emergency, is a symptom of our collective failure to propose a convincing emancipatory alternative. Even though the anger is more than legitimate, I call on all those who share values of solidarity and humanism to dissociate from a movement partly driven by the far right.
To those who asked me to relay the November 17 mobilization or to participate in the “organization” of the movement in the Alpes-Maritimes, I responded through social media on November 2 that I refused any collusion with the far right. Seeing Eric Ciotti, Laurent Wauquiez, Dieudonné, or Florian Philippot among the Yellow Vests neither contradicts my words nor my fears. Seeing racist and homophobic attacks mar the mobilization sadly confirmed them.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Marine Le Pen have called for the success of the “Yellow Vests.” In reality, the more successful the Yellow Vests mobilization is, the more it will be a marker of our collective failure, on several levels:
1. The anger of the Yellow Vests is perfectly legitimate. More than just anger, it is a cry of despair and disgust. The growing poverty, the crushing of the middle classes, the overall decline in purchasing power, and the anxiety of social insecurity are the immediate effects of a blind liberalism, methodically applied without interruption since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy. We have collectively failed to stem this dehumanizing process.
2. The sole slogan of a general system blockade is currently unifying and capable of mobilizing people who usually do not protest. However, the manner in which Emmanuel Macron, his government, and his majority exercise power is not unrelated to this: faced with disdain, only a show of force is conceivable. It is “those who are nothing,” the “illiterates,” the “lazy,” and those who merely have to “cross the street” to find work who are in the streets. The violence of the movement is the direct response to the arrogance and haughtiness of Macron’s power.
3. The inability of traditional political parties to embody an alternative in the eyes of the protesters is evident. Whether they remain outside the movement or chase after it in an attempt for electoral recovery, political parties are incapable of representing a credible solution and are, by fact, disqualified. Even though some offer fairer alternative solutions to the increase in fuel taxes, they are not heard. Worse still, the fact that purchasing power and environmental preservation are still opposed in France symbolizes the failure of parties promoting political ecology.
4. The Yellow Vests mobilization is a response to Nuit Debout and the limits of popular education. The indignant, Nuit Debout, the ZADs, and the Yellow Vests can be seen as a continuum of civic movements showing a constantly moving civil society and a lively democracy. But at the same time, while the ZADs are ecologist mobilizations, the Yellow Vests, driven by the urgency of the social crisis, prioritize purchasing power over preserving the planet. While Nuit Debout sought to collectively think of a more just society and stumbled on the convergence of struggles, the Yellow Vests aim to block the country to obtain better living conditions without seeking to agree on other objectives. Popular education acts over a long time and cannot provide an answer to an urgent social crisis.
5. The populist temptation. Hannah Arendt explains that totalitarian systems managed to unite masses of scattered individuals, isolated, without community, union, or political affiliation. Yet, before coming to power, these totalitarian movements were protest forces. Today, Europe is traversed by mass populist movements marching in the streets often openly displaying their nostalgia for fascism. France seemed strangely spared from this phenomenon. Only the “Manif for All” had stirred crowds during Hollande’s term. Currently, in France, there is a latent frustration, a need to take to the streets and establish a blocking force for a large part of the far-right electorate. Islamophobic and homophobic attacks within the Yellow Vests are severe and alarming. The presence of extreme and far-right leaders in the movement does not seem to be contested by the protesters, and we have not witnessed scenes of rejection against them.
I call on all people sharing values of solidarity and humanism to dissociate from the Yellow Vests movement. Do not endorse acts of discrimination. Do not participate in the emergence of a movement partly led by the far right. We will find other means, we will open other paths to make ourselves heard. If a blockade can be an ultimate solution to obtain dignified living conditions for everyone, it must be organized, structured, to avoid any act of violence and overflow. If the claims for better living standards are legitimate, they must be accompanied by a coherent vision of social progress, environmental preservation, and individual and collective emancipation.
David Nakache, President of the association “Tous citoyens!”
