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One Dead, Over 200 Injured As 280,000 People Protest Rising French Fuel Prices **This thread began in November, 2018** Login/Join 
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Does France have any domestic oil drilling? Is there any oil in France to drill for?


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Posts: 13386 | Location: Bottom of Lake Washington | Registered: March 06, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Not that I'm aware of.

Oddly enough, Schlumberger originated in France/German border and I think it still has training and HQ in France.

The protest isn't over the price of oil, but the increase in fuel taxes.


P229
 
Posts: 3808 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: November 21, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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So the frenchies support socialism but don't want to pay for it?




...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
 
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Not really from Vienna
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If Macron is smart, he’ll move to some little town in Quebec and hide his identity instead of returning to France.
 
Posts: 26852 | Location: Jerkwater, Texas | Registered: January 30, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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People are truly pissed here. Even in Brest on the West Coast of France where I am the yellow vest protesters are prominent. So far here they've only created a traffic nuisance for me. Thankfully we weren't in Paris this weekend where the protesters clashed pretty heavily with the authorities. That was planned, however. Tuesday my wife and I will spend a few days in Paris. It shouldn't be as bad as it is this weekend, but I imagine we will run into some of it. The French don't seem to have any interest in easing up at the moment.

I'll tell you, it's interesting. My in-laws actually now regret not voting for Le Pen. I never would've imagined hearing that. They didn't actually vote for Macron either in the last election. Most simply cast an empty ballot. They said they won't be doing that again. They'll make a choice even if it means voting for someone they would normally despise like Le Pen.

I think France might soon be ready for her own Donald J. Trump...


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Posts: 30297 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by lkdr1989:
So the frenchies support socialism but don't want to pay for it?


Just like every other idiot socialist.





Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up."
 
Posts: 33287 | Location: St. Louis MO | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
People are truly pissed here. Even in Brest on the West Coast of France where I am the yellow vest protesters are prominent. So far here they've only created a traffic nuisance for me. Thankfully we weren't in Paris this weekend where the protesters clashed pretty heavily with the authorities. That was planned, however. Tuesday my wife and I will spend a few days in Paris. It shouldn't be as bad as it is this weekend, but I imagine we will run into some of it. The French don't seem to have any interest in easing up at the moment.

I'll tell you, it's interesting. My in-laws actually now regret not voting for Le Pen. I never would've imagined hearing that. They didn't actually vote for Macron either in the last election. Most simply cast an empty ballot. They said they won't be doing that again. They'll make a choice even if it means voting for someone they would normally despise like Le Pen.

I think France might soon be ready for her own Donald J. Trump...


Are those froggy idiots pissed at themselves? They voted in the idiots that decided this. Any democratic institution that institutes socialist bullshit has NO ONE to blame but themselves.

They brought it on themselves, so suck it up buttercups... Those cheese eating surrender monkeys can enjoy a nice cup of whine with their cheese...

Sack up and throw the commies out or shut up.





Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up."
 
Posts: 33287 | Location: St. Louis MO | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
To all of you who are serving or have served our country, Thank You
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How can this be? After all it is home of the Paris climate agreement. They won their just reward.

I still remember the crap Trump and the USA took by France, the EU and United Nations when he decide to withdraw from the United Nations Paris Agreement.
 
Posts: 2675 | Registered: March 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It's getting bigger... and has widespread support:

There Is Suddenly A Far Bigger European Problem Than Brexit Or Italy

Forget Brexit and Italian populists for a second. It’s worth paying attention to what’s going on in France.

For more than two weeks, the country has been disrupted by an unusual protest: the so-called “Gilets Jaunes” or “Yellow Vests.” France is used to labor unrest and chaos affecting transport of course, with strikes something of a national pastime.

But this time it’s different.

Some 100,000 people blocking toll roads, petrol stations and crossroads is creating major disruption to transport and retail. It’s also proving to be extremely tricky to defuse, as there’s no single protest leader to negotiate with.

For investors, the question is whether it could derail the outperformance of French equities in 2018. One thing is clear. These protests are a real threat to the country’s retailers, including Carrefour and Casino, which are already busy battling a price war and trying to fend off Amazon.com's efforts to penetrate their home market. Big-box retailers have been hurt by the demos and blockages throughout the country, with customers denied access to some hypermarkets and supermarkets for entire days at a time. They recorded an average fall in consumer-good sales of 35 percent on Nov. 17 and of 18 percent the following Saturday, according to Nielsen data.

All this is adding to the perception of shrinking purchasing power in France, in particular among people on lower incomes. And that “doesn’t bode well” for the year-end holiday retail season, which needs a boost after the unseasonably hot weather of the previous months, according to Invest Securities. In fact, consumer confidence has been depressed since the summer, and this might be the final straw.

The impact on toll roads is harder to quantify, as demonstrators have been regularly opening them to let cars pass freely. Vinci is the largest operator in France and although motorway concessions only account for about 13% of its 2017 revenue, they generated more than 59 percent of its Ebitda. So brace yourself for an impact on earnings if the unrest gains traction.

The protests started on Nov. 10 with thousands of demonstrators demanding lower gasoline prices and taxes. Demonstrators marched on Paris’s Avenue des Champs-Elysees two weeks later, triggering social unrest. Surprisingly, the protest is benefiting from a significant backing, with 84 percent of the French public calling it “justified,” according to Odoxa-Dentsu poll for Le Figaro.

Further rioting over the weekend shows the movement is spinning out of control.

If this movement snowballs like we’ve seen in Italy with the Five Star Movement, Macron will have his hands full handling a crisis at home and have less time for the matters of the euro zone. After Greece, Brexit and Italy, this is another front that Europe didn’t need.

This is something to keep in mind, although today, the market will be focused on positive developments coming out from the G-20 meeting, with markets rallying globally.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...blem-brexit-or-italy



"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
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Posts: 23942 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: April 03, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Why is France taxing fuel to fund renewables? I thought France was heavily dependent on nuclear power, so why the high taxation to reduce oil or coal use? Sounds like nothing more than an excuse for the socialists to tax more.


I read a recent article that said the French want to close the nuclear power plants.

It seems from what I've read the gas tax was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Many of the protestors are people in their 30's and above who are just scraping by month to month and are fed up with it.

This really is socialism coming home to roost. I really wish there was more coverage of this here in the U.S.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Broadside,
 
Posts: 6608 | Location: Virginia | Registered: January 22, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Balze can you, while you’re there, give us a refresher on the tax schemes on fuel, goods and income?


P229
 
Posts: 3808 | Location: Sacramento, CA | Registered: November 21, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by KevinCW:
How typically Frrench.

They vote for stupid pie in the sky socialist bullshit, then when it doesn't work and they raise taxes to fund the silly shit.... they get madder. Idiots. Who fucking knew the 30 hour work week would breed a bunch of spoiled pussies....

Fucking non bathing, wine drinking, cheese eating surrender monkeys.


Come on Kevin, don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel. Wink
 
Posts: 6872 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by KevinCW:
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
So the frenchies support socialism but don't want to pay for it?


Just like every other idiot socialist.


Umm, not to defend the French here, but we’re presently doing this waaay more in the U.S. than anywhere in Europe, to the tune of nearly 1,000,000,000,000 dollars per year. So I guess we’re the world’s greatest idiot socialists.



Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus
 
Posts: 8200 | Location: Utah | Registered: December 18, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Socialists are idiots no matter what country they live in.





Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up."
 
Posts: 33287 | Location: St. Louis MO | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Update to an article I originally posted. Elitists telling the middle class what's good for them. Hasn't this happened before in France?

https://www.caranddriver.com/n...ads-fuel-tax-protest



French Protests over High Fuel Taxes Turn Violent


Graffiti scrawled on the Arc de Triomphe and broken windows on the Champs-Elysees capped a weeks-long protest over huge increases in fuel taxes, among other fiscal issues.

December 3, 2018 AT ‎7‎:‎09‎ ‎AM By Ronan Glon 69 Comments

French Protests over High Fuel Taxes Turn Violent

UPDATE 12/3/18: The anger of fuel-tax protesters continues to build across France over diesel taxes, up this year by 23 percent to an average $1.71 per liter. The protesters, calling themselves Gilets Jaunes (yellow vests) after the reflective clothing they wear, have now turned violent. For a third straight weekend, massive demonstrations called for reductions in the tax, and, increasingly, for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron. France 24 reported that some 75,000 demonstrators were out across France this weekend, nearly 200 fires were set, and 378 arrests were made in Paris alone, as protesters scrawled graffiti on the Arc de Triomphe and broke store windows along the Champs-Elysées boulevard. More than 130 people were injured over the weekend, and the French government is now considering declaring a state of emergency. The president has said he will try to "slow the rate of increase" in fuel taxes, depending on the international fuel-price situation, France 24 reported today.


France's nerves are in a highly strung state over the increasingly high cost of driving a car in the country. On Saturday, November 17, about 283,000 motorists symbolically wearing reflective vests mobilized across the country to protest a series of unpopular measures ranging from the ever-increasing price of fuel to the lowering of speed limits on country roads. Massive protests and inescapable strikes are frequent in France, but this movement stands out as a moment of national collaboration that transcends partisan lines and social classes. Born on Facebook, it is not organized by a political party or by a trade union, and there is no identifiable leader to represent it.


Whether they're enthusiasts or commuters, motorists are showing their support for the movement by placing a reflective vest on their car's dashboard. Some activists marched in the streets of major cities over the weekend, while the more pugnacious motorists continue for a third day today to block roads, grocery stores, gas stations, and fuel-storage facilities. The blockades led to altercations between police forces and angry mobs, and a 63-year-old protester blocking a road in the Savoy region was struck and killed by a car trying to force its way through the barrier. The driver, who is in police custody, explained she panicked while taking her daughter to the hospital. About 400 protesters were injured in similar incidents, including 14 who were hospitalized in critical condition, and law enforcement officials made about 50 arrests. The demonstrations nonetheless continued across France on Monday, November 19, and they have spread to neighboring Belgium.



A 2018 Fuel-Tax Increase Lit This Fuse

The rising price of fuel is, to use a French proverb, the droplet that caused the glass to overflow. In early 2018, the government announced it would raise taxes on gasoline and diesel to make both fuels more expensive and, in turn, financially pressure motorists into driving green (or, at the very least, driving less) to curb air pollution. As it stands, France has one of the highest tax rates on fuel among the countries in the European Union. About 60 percent of the cost of a liter of either fuel goes straight to the public treasury. Another increase is planned for 2019.


The price of diesel has increased more than the price of gasoline; it has gone up by around 23 percent in 12 months as France joins other nations in waging war on the fuel. Motorists took this relatively sudden measure as a punch in the gut. For decades, various administrations went to remarkable lengths to put drivers behind the wheel of diesel-powered cars, and lawmakers encouraged companies like Renault and Peugeot to develop diesel technology. The result is that, as of January 2017, 61.6 percent of the cars registered in France run on diesel, though that number is gradually shrinking as the percentage of new gasoline-powered cars increases. The protesters want to avoid the fate that has befallen motorists in Germany, where the government found itself trapped in a judicial straightjacket and resignedly ceded to court-ordered bans on diesels in many major cities.


Motorists feel the stick without seeing the carrot, protesters argue. The concept of raising taxes to eradicate an ignominious habit isn't new; the French government has also applied it, less controversially, to cigarettes. The cost of a pack of Camels has nearly doubled in the past decade, and the number of smokers has fallen. The difference is that, with enough willpower, a smoker can quit; a driver can't. Protesters insist they need a car to get to work, to take their kids to school, to go buy groceries, or to go on vacation. These arguments echo particularly loudly in the rural areas that make up a significant part of the country. The assertion that the national government makes rules to gladden wealthy Parisians and sees common folks as merely a money well it can tap into as needed has surfaced repeatedly during the protests.


The rising cost of diesel is the tip of the iceberg. The list of grievances hammered onto the president's door also notes the recent lowering of speed limits across the country's vast network of back roads—another measure taken, officially, in the name of air pollution—along with the proliferation of speed cameras and the strengthening of the biennial safety and emissions inspections, which have consequently become more expensive. And, in the Paris region, some protesters still haven't swallowed an elitist car ban that effectively prevents the poorest motorists—those who can't afford to buy a late-model car—from driving within the city limits.


The last time the government took a step to make driving more affordable was in 2000, when it began eliminating an annual registration tax called the vignette. It has been an uphill battle since, and working-class motorists have reached the end of their tether. They're not the type to do little but speak a great deal, either.



Members of the French government have shown an entrenched resistance to change. President Emmanuel Macron turned a Nelsonian eye to the protests and flew to Germany to participate in a commemorative ceremony with chancellor Angela Merkel. Prime minister Edouard Philippe acknowledged the anger felt across the country, but he stressed that increasing the cost of fuel is in France's best interest and made it clear that backpedaling isn't an option. What is an option, according to minister of the interior Christophe Castaner, is sending the army to quell the most recalcitrant part of the rebellion.


Motorists are standing their ground, too, and additional protests are planned across France in the coming days, leaving the nation deadlocked in an arm-wrestling contest. In 2013, a similarly-crippling movement in Brittany coerced lawmakers into scrapping a planned tax on semi-trucks. The government spent a not insignificant amount of money to install license-plate scanners on highway overpasses but ultimately nixed the law. It estimates the embarrassing ordeal cost about $1 billion.


The scanners are offline, but they're still perched over many French highways. For yellow-vest-wearing motorists, they serve as a reminder that it's never too late to force lawmakers to row back.




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11749 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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With support for the Gilets Jaunes movement growing, now is the time for the French.gov to quintuple taxes on yellow reflective vests.





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Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
 
Posts: 31376 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: May 17, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Wait, what?
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Originally posted by Sig2340:
With support for the Gilets Jaunes movement growing, now is the time for the French.gov to quintuple taxes on yellow reflective vests.

Read my mind, except I was wondering how to invest in the damn things myself haha.




“Remember to get vaccinated or a vaccinated person might get sick from a virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated.” - author unknown
 
Posts: 15501 | Location: Martinsburg WV | Registered: April 02, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Wait, what?
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France announces a 6 month pause in fuel taxation to quell rioting. I hope the French are smart enough to figure out that a 6 month pause is not the same as cessation. All this will do is give the government time to better prepare for the next round of riots.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46437904

Edouard Philippe said that people's anger must be heard, and the measures would not be applied until there had been proper debate with those affected.
The protests have hit major French cities, causing considerable damage for the past three weekends.
The "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests) protests have now grown to reflect more widespread anger at the government.
Three people have died since the unrest began and the resulting violence and vandalism - notably when statues were smashed at the Arc de Triomphe last Saturday - have been widely condemned.

"Yellow vests" are so called because they have taken to the streets wearing the high-visibility yellow clothing that is required to be carried in every vehicle by French law.
The movement has grown via social media and has supporters across the political spectrum.
Ball in Macron's court after violent protests
Jobseeker: Macron should help me find work
President Emmanuel Macron was elected two years ago with an overwhelming mandate for sweeping reform, but his popularity has fallen sharply in recent months.
Mr Macron has accused his political opponents of hijacking the movement in order to block the reforms.
What did Mr Philippe say?
Mr Philippe announced the measures in a TV address after meeting MPs from the ruling party, La Republique en Marche.
He said the six-month suspension would be applied to fuel tax increases, as well as hikes in electricity and gas prices and strict vehicle emissions controls.

Vandalism was rife during the protests in Paris
"The French people who have put on yellow vests love their country," he said. "We share those values."
But he said the violence must stop.
"The main role of the state is to guarantee public order but we must fight against anything that endangers the unity of the nation," he said, adding that any future demonstrations should be declared officially and carried out peacefully.
Mr Philippe added that a public consultation would be held on taxes and public spending from 15 December until 1 March.
It is not clear how the government will find the revenue it was anticipating from these measures, but Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire - quoted by Reuters - said the suspension would not put its budget commitments in jeopardy.
What is the wider anger about?
Emmanuel Macron was elected on a platform of economic reform, which would, the French people were told, improve their lot - with lower unemployment and a kick-started economy.
But many feel that has not emerged. An analysis of the 2018-19 budget carried out by France's public policy institute, for example, found that the poorest quarter of households would largely see their income drop or stay the same under the plans.
A chart shows the change in disposable income by earning power, divided by household income between the lowest one percent and the top 1%. Generally, the bottom quarter is worse of, the middle half is slightly better off, ad the top 15% are mostly worse off - except for the top 1%, who can, according to this data, see an almost 6% increase in their income (which is already the highest)
Middle-income earners would see a modest bump - but the greatest beneficiaries would be those who are already wealthy, in the top 1%. The pattern is worse for retired people - almost all of whom will be worse off.

Mr Macron (L) had vowed no capitulation to street protests
Macron's difficulty
By Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris
The protesters had been waiting for the president to enact the next step in the elaborate pas-de-deux, which is French social negotiation.
What the ritual required was a gesture from the government that showed that it had not just listened, but was prepared to appease.
That is how, since time immemorial, French social conflicts have been resolved.
The difficulty for Emmanuel Macron is that this is exactly the kind of capitulation to the street that he has vowed to stop. There will be no change of direction, he repeats to all who will hear, because that would only store up worse problems for the future.




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Posts: 15501 | Location: Martinsburg WV | Registered: April 02, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Macron has put himself in a terrible position. All his talk of looking after the world rather than being “nationalistic” has come back to bite him with quickness.

If he backs down, it’s obvious he made a mistake and he also gets to look like a weak leader. If he stays the course, he continues to push unpopular policy on an already infuriated populous. He should have put the interests of his people first.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
 
Posts: 21074 | Location: San Dimas CA, the Old Dominion or the Tar Heel State…flip a coin  | Registered: April 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by stickman428:
Macron has put himself in a terrible position. All his talk of looking after the world rather than being “nationalistic” has come back to bite him with quickness.

If he backs down, it’s obvious he made a mistake and he also gets to look like a weak leader. If he stays the course, he continues to push unpopular policy on an already infuriated populous. He should have put the interests of his people first.


Well Macron is a socialist (D) and they only mouth the pleasantries in order to get elected, you'd think people would learn but in the end Americans are just as stupid and ignorant as the French.




 
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