Yellow Vests

[GregTimo]

Sorry but our lot have become a mix of populist going on extreme right and conspiracy theory heads who are kinda beyond classification (see the famous Peter Sellars satirical movie on how the fluoride in the water (and now worse) started as an extreme right thing back in 60s USA though https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove ) . I was one of the lefties trying to swing it our way on the 1st march. Between the wackiness, confused racist chanting and the rain we decided it was better to focus on other matters . I though the mere 3? AFA people were brave on a later event, it's a pity more of them didn't turn up . Anyhow the reported 69,000 in France sounds like another downturn (84,000 2 weeks running) but still higher than the lowpoint over New Year . The NPA retain an interest http://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/Section-Politique as do other left via humanitie.fr and regards.fr so the nature of the protests is quite different there being in response to Macron's cuts /neo-liberal agenda . I am worried though that there could be a slide towards populist extreme right here beyond the grumbling that never stopped if we don't counter it properly (already with the Peter Casey problem especially in my native Donegal) and that this unfortunately might become part of it , but then I'm a worrier

[barrym]

Yep, confusion reigns. Planned,IMO, by Macron's troops and a compliant media, in France. Even Liberation is wobbling, more on the snow this morning than gilets jaunes.

The red scarves stuff (right wing supporters of Macron, mostly), got good coverage, despite the fact that no one could decide what they stood for.

The gilets were out in Paris but the police have continued their brutality, one of the gilet's spokesmen was hit in the eye by a rubber bullet.

Meanwhile, Macron (and the media) push the 'national debate' which has morphed into a sort of national opinion poll, with meetings.....

However, there is still a groundswell of frustration, when the weather gets better, the gilets may return.

I saw a 'decret' on my local Town Hall noticeboard - prohibiting any form of manifesation(s) in the area..... There you go...., but 90% of cars and vans, etc, have their (obligatory) gilet jaune in the window.

[GregTimo]

Coverage of Act 12 (yesterday's 12th Saturday of action in a row) seems a bit slow elsewhere (or mixed up as at France24) but again at the NPA news site there are stories all over the front page http://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/
Significantly an article there implying the state authorities are now fiddling the figures http://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/S...e-dont-5-400-a but a glance shows with 10,000 claimed at Toulouse and 11,000 at Bordeaux alone then the turnout seems as high or higher this weekend as last
Meanwhile an assembly of assemblies has called for a general strike (article in English) while above it is claimed that union (red vest) cooperation is increasing with the initially union sceptic yellow vest-ers
https://roarmag.org/2019/01/30/gilet...ercy-assembly/
And reviewed in the old Communist paper https://www.humanite.fr/article-sans-titre-667050 (Humanitie itself now undergoing bankruptcy proceedings but that's a story in itself covered in it's own pages and elsewhere)

[GregTimo]

The 'general strike' called for tomorrow is going ahead. It is not the 1st such mobilisation, there was a previous in December which mobilised 15,000 in Paris says the Liberalish Le Monde
https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/artic...9116_3224.html
The old communist Humanitie has a piece from a union head I think https://www.humanite.fr/article-sans-titre-667088
The day of action which it is probably closer to than an old fashioned mass strike is called for by the CGT old communist union and supported by some Yellow Vests (but not some also) not the other war around as I had thought . If it is a success then maybe someone will do a proper account in English later. In the meantime via the British SWP https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/47...against+Macron

[GregTimo]

'A Tuesday of Hope' the headline says , the unions claiming 300,000 took part across France https://www.humanite.fr/mouvement-so...nsemble-667470
In English, of course there is a dispute over the turnout https://www.connexionfrance.com/Fren...ers-and-police
Public broadcaster in English http://en.rfi.fr/france/20190205-fre...me-joint-force

An impression of the Paris march from the 'Ensemble' aligned (independent left coalition in France Insoumise) journal in French http://www.regards.fr/societe/articl...n-construction
And this one (General strike: the missed opportunity?) tells a complicated story of union history, the bad feeling with the yellow vests and so on
http://www.regards.fr/politique/arti...casion-manquee

[barrym]

Meanwhile the Parliament voted through the 'anti-casseurs' law, which copper fastens the police brutality and labels the gilets jaunes in the same camp as the anarchists and the extreme left (and right?)

[GregTimo]

For 'Act 14' (the 14th Saturday) again a confused picture from France. More marching in Paris but less elsewhere ? The Guardian like (corporate bought former left) Liberation gives a figure of 41,500 from the Interior Ministry down from the previous 51,400 https://www.liberation.fr/france/201...s-fort_1709809
The NPA related site reports from Paris and Roeun but before Toulouse and Bordeaux had the largest numbers http://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/

Worryingly though, despite the big intervention of left activists and politicians in the protests it has not shifted the opinion polls (for the Euro elections mainly) yet in which the extreme right are again doing well (blipping into the 30s between Le Pen and the ex ('real') Gaullist Dupont-Aignan) . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_E...tion_in_France
Melenchon's ego seems to be getting in the way in part , but it really is hard to figure . But continued de-moralisation is apparent . I would guess too much posturing. In a time of fresh hardship it must grate .
A Melenchon critical but friendly inconclusive analysis http://www.regards.fr/politique/arti...-a-aujourd-hui
And gossip via a Spanish (possibly going Guardian like? site of a left tradition) asks 'Why do not the yellow vests benefit the French left?' (I am totally reliant on translation services re Spanish)
https://www.publico.es/internacional...-francesa.html
Ironically Regards has the easiest to follow gossip on the recent split in Podemos , but that's another story

[barrym]

Afaics, the gilets jaunes are now a fudge between the 'genuine' original people, quite a few still on the roundabouts; the 'casseurs'a a ragbag of rent a crowd anti whatever you're having yourself; antisemites, agin the idea that the jews control the money.

Add to that the debat nationale, a talking shop taking place all over the place; but, the summaries will be collected by civil servants, and amalgamated into a basis for decisions, not in any democratic place, but in the Elysee Palace by Macron's stooges.

By the time all that is concluded the easter holliers will be upon us, followed closely by the premier mai, followed by the various mai holliers, followed by 14 juillet....and then the real holliers begin.

Me, cynical? never.

My original delight that the revolutionary spirit of France is alive and well has been swallowed up by a classical bit of media management by the gov., aided and abetted by some unfettered police brutality.

[GregTimo]

'Act 19' (19th week) yesterday . The report from the most vocal Left site I know (associated with the trotskyist coalition NPA) claims
'Thus, the agenda of yellow vests continues. They are even more numerous than for Act 18, according to the very figures of the Ministry of the Interior, which declares 40,500 demonstrators in all France today against 32,000 for Act XVIII. The yellow vests counted 127,000 people in the streets, and this despite the preventive arrests, searches and police checks in stations, and the gates of Paris.' .. see below https://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/...ombreux-encore

However last week they seemed to claim 500,000 people turning out (4 times as many) but now I am assuming they conflated the coinciding climate change marchs events with the Yellow Vest ones . (naughty? My French is school level and not comprehensive)
https://www.revolutionpermanente.fr/...0-manifestants

Other outlets such as regards.fr (related to Insoumise) and humanitie (related to PCF) continue to be less excited with scattered reports

[C. Flower]

Angry populists - some how remind me of the Brexiteers on the street.

[pluralist]

Angry populists - some how remind me of the Brexiteers on the street.

Yes, it also reminds me of the UK petrol price protests of 2000. It's like all the Jeremy Clarkson pub bores (or whatever the French equivalent is) in France assembled in Paris to be angry about something or other.

[barrym]

After 20+ weeks of protest, time to assess/

Unfortunately, imo, Macron has survived this. Petrol prices will go up this w/e. The 'grand debate# is over. Nothing has really changed.

In addition, the French middle class were reluctant to be seen to support the gilets jaunes as they were working class, mostly. They didn't want the prices to rise, but they didn't want any return to any socialistic stuff. Unfortunately for the gilets jaunes the casseurs were well organised and took over the publicity.

After that Macron and his Genghis Khan followers saw the opportunity to let the authorities loose. There have been no direct deaths, but.....

Oh we had the usual sacrificial lambs, the Prefet of Paris police, but the grey men in the ministries, macron people to a person, are still there.

Only Mediapart of the media are still asking the questions, maybe they will uncover something that will give Macron pause for thought.