quote:

Originally posted by Mikito:
Did someone make a killing selling reflective vests?

I think that French law requires motorists to keep a yellow, reflective vest in their vehicles for safety reasons, hence the symbolism.

There's much more at stake than a confiscatory gas tax, burdensome as that is. What's at stake is the continuance of France as a separate sovereign nation. Endgame for Macron, as a globalist/socialist, is the reduction of France to a "unit" in the European Union. Anything short of overthrowing the globalist/socialist order will be a fail for French patriots.

Good post here about the the meltdown in Western Europe:

This isn't 1968. This is no ordinary development. Reportedly, 84% of French people in the latest poll support the protests, and their top concerns are the burdensome "climate" regulations, which are undermining every aspect of their economic lives, and the uncontrollable social impacts of mass migration into their country. As Alain said to Rebel media in the video, they've simply had enough.

Notably, their country is seen as a refuge for others. But for the French, there is no refuge from policies that are destroying their way of life -- because the EU idea is designed to deny them any such shelter. That is its very purpose.

In fact, the political idea to which the UN migration compact bears the most resemblance is the EU's. Both are about a systematic undoing of borders and denial of local discretion over boundaries and standards.

Yet the protests don't articulate that clearly. They are more of a cri de coeur against side effects than a forensic political manifesto against a misguided treatment regimen. It's as if no one has the political language now in which to articulate such a manifesto. Nothing that's real fits what we know how to talk about.

There is much more to say on this topic. To say it in an organized way would take longer than I have tonight. I don't see this in Eastern Europe, nor necessarily in all of Western Europe. But in the northwest from which the Western culture of today has most recently been incubated -- Germany, France, the UK, and the British Isles, the Low Countries, Scandinavia -- my eyes perceive a grand derangement: a great disordering. Among the national leaders, there is a strange mix of obsession and fecklessness, as if they can't help themselves, and can't stop doing things that don't even make sense.

Western Europe Is On The Edge of The Abyss

The substance of the migration compact is recognizing migration as a “human right.” The implication of that is profound, although people who articulate the implication are routinely disparaged and ridiculed. But the implication is inescapable. If migration is a “human right,” then it overrides the protection of national borders and the idea of sovereign nationhood itself.

https://lidblog.com/western-europe-abyss/

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:

quote:

Originally posted by Mikito:
Did someone make a killing selling reflective vests?

I think that French law requires motorists to keep a yellow, reflective vest in their vehicles for safety reasons, hence the symbolism.

Yes it is a requirement along with the reflective triangle.

The protests are forecast by the Govt and Police to be even worse this Saturday.
My children's school has just cancelled their Christmas Market on Saturday.
The US Embassy also just sent out a warning for Saturday. Includes keeping your widows closed to reduce exposure to the tear gas.

Should be an interesting day seeing Paris burn.

quote:

Should be an interesting day seeing Paris burn.

The people of France are slowly waking up to the problems of socialism combined with unlimited immigration. It will eventually happen here in the US as well.

You can have a limited amount of socialism, in a homogeneous society, but you can't have socialism and open borders as well. It brings the host country down to the level of the shit hole country.

Study: More than 7-in-10 California Immigrant Households Are on Welfare
https://www.breitbart.com/poli...olds-are-on-welfare/

Eventually it overwhelms the system.

France Deploys 89,000 Cops Amid Fears Of Yellow Vest Rebellion On Saturday

French authorities will deploy at least 8,000 riot police and gendarmes in Paris on Saturday, and 89,000 forces across the country according to the Prime Minister, as the Elysee prepares for "act four" of the Yellow Vest movement's violent protests against the Macron government.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...-feared-yellow-vests

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
France Deploys 89,000 Cops Amid Fears Of Yellow Vest Rebellion On Saturday

French authorities will deploy at least 8,000 riot police and gendarmes in Paris on Saturday, and 89,000 forces across the country according to the Prime Minister, as the Elysee prepares for "act four" of the Yellow Vest movement's violent protests against the Macron government.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...-feared-yellow-vests

Hope the Yellow Vests put on a good show this weekend.

All this talk about the “yellow vest” riots had me think of this movie being appropriate for the time.

from Chellim's post

quote:

my eyes perceive a grand derangement: a great disordering. Among the national leaders, there is a strange mix of obsession and fecklessness, as if they can't help themselves, and can't stop doing things that don't even make sense

That is the way I feel. I sometimes wonder if we have "advanced" to a point where so many world leaders do not possess the most basic comprehension of what makes a civil, prosperous, and free society.

The present leaders of Europe seem such a weak version of past leaders. It is similar to strong individuals who made successful companies through decades of hard work, and then pass it to spoiled children who have no understanding of what it took to achieve that success.

Same thought could apply to much of the present USA population.

The people of France have become so used to the social programs that there is no turning back. They will revolt at the slightest hint of a reduction of benefits, as well as any increase in taxes to support those programs. The socialist mentality is a plague in this country. The taxes are the highest , or second highest in Europe (depending on which version of the published information you read) and much of it is going to the waves of African and middle eastern immigrants they freely let in the door.

quote:

It is similar to strong individuals who made successful companies through decades of hard work, and then pass it to spoiled children who have no understanding of what it took to achieve that success.

That's an interesting observation.
We also know that most businesses do not survive the transition from one generation to the next.
I guess that's what leads to collapse. People take it for granted that what their forefathers worked for will continue. They really have no clue what it took to achieve or how fragile it can be.
We are spending our inheritance.

The Diplomad - Is Paris Churning?

quote:

I have watched with fascination the recent unrest in Paris and other places in the Fifth Republic. Before, however, I make any comments, let me repeat my well-worn mantra that, "I am not an expert on France and don't pretend to be one." If you want expertise, do what I do, and read the excellent NO PASARAN blog. There you will find spot-on analyses of what is happening in France, and how it is being misreported by the MSM. You might also want to give a read to the always fun and insightful Canadian The Rebel Media. They have posted some terrific raw video of the demonstrations in Paris and provided excellent commentary on what is happening. I will refer back to that video.

These sorts of events prove tough to place in their proper order of historical importance. I want neither to exaggerate nor minimize the impact of the current disturbances in France. Do they rate with those of May 1968? The February and June rebellions of 1848? The Paris Commune of 1871? A re-run of 1789? Perhaps it is just an ordinary, run-of-the mill street riot? I will let others more knowledgable decide, but, naturellement, that won't stop me from opining.

A link to the blog Diplomad references

No Pasaran

quote:

It is not wrong to say that the demonstrations were caused by the government's decision to raise gas prices. What is missing is that this is just one of several draconian measures dating back half a year, i.e., ‘tis the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

For the past four to five months, the nation's drivers and motorcycle riders have been growing increasingly irate at the "bloodsuckers" in the French government who seem to do little else, road-security-wise, but double down on bringing more and more gratuitous oppression and more and more unwarranted persecution measures down on their necks.

In fact, the imposition of ever harsher rules has been going on for the past decade and a half or so — whether the government was on the right or on the left — and that is why the choice of les gilets jaunes (the yellow jackets) by the demonstrators is particularly ironic.

The 2008 law (under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy) requiring the presence of high-visibility vests (gilets de haute visibilité) aka security vests (gilets de sécurité) in every vehicle — hardly an unreasonable rule, for sure, as similar ones exist throughout the continent — was just another example of the myriad of evermore-onerous rules for car and motorcycle owners over the past 15 years, and so the government in effect provided the 2018 rebels with their uniforms.

https://www.reuters.com/articl...l&utm_source=twitter

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris was in lockdown early on Saturday with thousands of French security forces braced to meet renewed rioting by “yellow vest” protesters in the capital and other cities in a fourth weekend of confrontation over living costs.

The Eiffel Tower and other tourist landmarks were shut, shops were boarded up to avoid looting and street furniture removed to avoid metal bars from being used as projectiles.

About 89,000 police were deployed across the country.

Of these, about 8,000 were deployed in Paris to avoid a repeat of last Saturday’s mayhem when rioters torched cars and looted shops off the famed Champs Elysees boulevard, and defaced the Arc de Triomphe with graffiti directed at President Emmanuel Macron.

Protesters, using social media, have billed the weekend as “Act IV” in a dramatic challenge to Macron and his policies.

The protests, named after the high-visibility safety jackets French motorists have to keep in their cars, erupted in November over the squeeze on household budgets caused by fuel taxes.

Demonstrations have since swelled into a broad, sometimes-violent rebellion against Macron - a challenge made more difficult to handle since the movement has no formal leader.

Authorities say the protests have been hijacked by far-right and anarchist elements bent on violence and stirring up social unrest in a direct affront to Macron and the security forces.

Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Macron, whose popularity is at a low ebb according to polls, has been forced into making the first major U-turn of his presidency by abandoning a fuel tax.

Despite the climbdown, the “yellow vests” continue to demand more concessions from the government, including lower taxes, higher salaries, cheaper energy costs, better retirement provisions and even Macron’s resignation.

The protests were supported by 66 percent of respondents in an Ifop-Fiducial poll for CNews TV, down six percentage points since a previous poll carried out on Dec. 3-4.

Fuel...Right.

I'm in Rennes today. Hopefully the worst of the disruptions stay in Paris as we make the drive back to Brest later today.

I heard that there will be two tanks on the Champs-Élysées today. Tanks! Wut?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Balzé Halzé,

The Russians! influenced the protests:

France Is Investigating Russia’s Supposed Role In Promoting Yellow Vest Riots

France is investigating Russia’s alleged role in promoting the so-called Yellow Vest movement after recent reports suggest Moscow-linked news outlets spread false information about the protests.

French security services are looking into whether Russian outlets boosted hashtags promoting the protests, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a Sunday local radio interview. His comments come after reports showed that 600 Twitter accounts pushed the anti-carbon tax protests.

The protests “have been at or near the top” of the list of accounts that Alliance for Securing Democracy monitor, the group’s social media analyst, Bret Schafer, told reporters. “That’s a pretty strong indication that there is interest in amplifying the conflict” for worldwide audiences.

Much of the content from the tweets is coming from Russian-owned outlets RT and Sputnik. Some of their reporting has been splotchy at best, according to Bloomberg News. For instance, both outlets falsely reported that police unions were showing their allegiance to the Yellow Vest movement.

“An investigation is now underway,” Le Drian said. “I will not make comments before the investigation has brought conclusions.”

French officials held out hope that French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision Thursday to nix an unpopular carbon tax might mitigate some of the anti-tax sentiment.

https://dailycaller.com/2018/1...france-riots-russia/

Meanwhile...

Violent Protests Spread from Paris to Belgium and the Netherlands

At least 700 people were arrested in Paris as 5,000 demonstrators faced off against 8,000 police in another violent demonstration by "yellow vest" protesters.

Riots broke out all over France despite the supposed cause of the violence being eliminated earlier in the week by the government of President Emmanuel Macron. The government had been claiming that a fuel tax increase was to blame for the protests, but the government rescinded the increase on Wednesday.

Donald Trump believes it was Macron's climate change policies:


Donald J. Trump ✔
@realDonaldTrump

The Paris Agreement isn’t working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France. People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the environment. Chanting “We Want Trump!” Love France.

But the protesters themselves were giving the real reason for the violence -- if anyone in Macron's government was listening.

Fox News:

"We are not here to destroy Paris, we are here to tell Macron we are f--king fed up," said one protester before the clashes with the police began, adding that the people are protesting ever-increasing taxes on the working class.

[...]

Many protesters slammed the French media for portraying the protests as led by violent agitators and for siding with Macron's government.

"We are not black bloc [black clad anarchists], we are ordinary people voicing our anger," said a protester who did not want to be identified.

Meanwhile, the contagion has spread to neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands.

ABC News:

Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannons at yellow-vested protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel after they tried to breach a riot barricade, as the movement that started in France made its mark Saturday in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Protesters in Brussels threw paving stones, road signs, fireworks, flares and other objects at police blocking their entry to an area where Michel's offices, other government buildings and the parliament are located.

Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere said that around 400 protesters were gathered in the area.

About 100 were detained, many for carrying dangerous objects like fireworks or clothing that could be used as protection in clashes with police.

The reasons for the protests are not entirely clear. Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks.

Instead, protesters appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power. Some in Belgium appeared intent only on confronting police.


https://pjmedia.com/trending/v...ium-and-netherlands/

The Russians done it! The Russians done it! Just listen to this sniveling asshole, or to as much as you can stand.



Link to original video: https://youtu.be/_9AZh68Xq8c

He is the Occasional Cortex of France.

Is he not a ridiculous, little man or what?

Macron raises minimum wage to appease Yellow Vest protesters

Date created : 10/12/2018 - 20:31
Latest update : 10/12/2018 - 21:08

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday a 100 euro per month increase in the minimum wage from next year in a major concession to "yellow vest" protesters who have roiled the country.

In his first national address following two weekends of the worst unrest in France in years, Macron sought to restore calm after accusations that his political methods and economic policies were fracturing the country.

"We want a France where one can live in dignity through one's work and on this we have gone too slowly," Macron said on primetime television.

"I ask the government and parliament to do what is necessary."

Watch Macron's highly anticipated address
The president's address came 48 hours after protesters fought street battles with riot police in Paris, hurling missiles, torching cars and looting shops.

Macron faces a delicate task: he needs to persuade the middle class and blue-collar workers that he hears their anger over a squeeze on household spending, without being exposed to charges of caving in to street politics.

'Macron showed a much more humble tone'
He said people on the minimum wage would see their salaries increase by 100 euros a month from 2019 without extra costs to employers. Pensioners earning less than 2,000 euros would see recent increase in social security taxes scrapped.

But he also said he would stick to his reform agenda and refused to reinstate a wealth tax.

'A few important measures, but no U-turn on wealth tax'
"We will respond to the economic and social urgency with strong measures, by cutting taxes more rapidly, by keeping our spending under control, but not with U-turns," Macron said.

(REUTERS)

https://www.france24.com/en/20...h-yellow-vest-unrest