Paris is Burning

OsricPearl Sun 25 Nov - 3:47

http://news.trust.org/item/20181124101720-ghrrs

PARIS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse protesters in Paris who are angry over rising fuel costs and President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies, the second weekend of "yellow vest" protests that have caused disruption across France.

Several hundred protesters had converged on the Champs Elysees where they faced police sent to prevent them from reaching the nearby presidential Elysee Palace.

Some protesters sang the national anthem while others carried signs with slogans saying "Macron, resignation" and "Macron, thief".

For more than a week, protesters clad in the fluorescent yellow jackets that all motorists in France must have in their cars have blocked highways across the country with burning barricades and convoys of slow-moving trucks, obstructing access to fuel depots, shopping centres and some factories.

They are opposed to taxes Macron introduced last year on diesel and petrol which are designed to encourage people to shift to more environmentally friendly transport. Alongside the tax, the government has offered incentives to buy green or electric vehicles.

Security forces are concerned that far-left and far-right extremists may infiltrate the demonstrations, escalating the crowd-control challenges. Around 30,000 people are expected to protest in Paris alone, Denis Jacob, secretary general of police union Alternative Police, told Reuters.

"We know there are ultra-right and ultra-left infiltrators. You can also expect gangs from the suburbs and 'black-blocks'," he said, referring to a militant protest force.

Aëlwenn Sun 25 Nov - 10:42

Sorry but it’s false. Only 8,000 people protest in Paris.
The media over exagerrated this protest.
And the title, Paris is burning, this located only in Champs Elysée.
I can’t answering right now, but tonight it’s ok for explaining how this movement is extremely ridiculous, exaggerated by media and insignificant.
In all the France, 160,000 people protests for 67.000.000 inhabitants.

OsricPearl Mon 26 Nov - 15:33

Aëlwenn wrote:Sorry but it’s false. Only 8,000 people protest in Paris.
The media over exagerrated this protest.
And the title, Paris is burning, this located only in Champs Elysée.
I can’t answering right now, but tonight it’s ok for explaining how this movement is extremely ridiculous, exaggerated by media and insignificant.
In all the France, 160,000 people protests for 67.000.000 inhabitants.

OK, awesome. I don't know what's what because the media tends to exaggerate. What would you say the situation is with the taxes?

Sary Fri 30 Nov - 0:09

I am interested, as an American, to see if these protests will gain steam.
We certainly have our share, here in the USA.

I read that these protesters are converging in Paris, coming from all over France. The past two weekends had the most people show up, and that is when the violence ensued.

In my opinion, the carbon tax that Marcon is implementing is lopsided and very unfair to the regular working citizens, especially those living in the rural areas and don't have access to public transportation.

You can only squeeze people so much before they bite back.

Jehan I Sat 1 Dec - 11:00

Let' be honest they are far more...
And the majority of the population support the movement.

The most interesting fact is they are almost all white french people. The opposit of what the government like.

Neon Knight Sat 1 Dec - 20:58

What do Aëlwenn and Jehan think of Macron's fuel tax policy? Is it unjust?

Jehan I Sun 2 Dec - 9:02

I don't have specific opinion about fuel tax, but the movement is more about taxation in general and opposition to his government.

I support the yellow vest.

Sary Sun 2 Dec - 21:59

Didn't Macron win the presidency by significant margin?
Fair and square.

It is no mystery that a liberal government = higher taxes. I see that the protests are becoming more violent. The vandalism is disgraceful.
I hope that nobody is killed.

OsricPearl Mon 3 Dec - 15:49

Well, it seems the protests are getting more intense. I too support them. Macron can only hope that he doesn't share the same fate as other tyrants in the past. The French have a tradition of beheading leaders they don't like.

Neon Knight Tue 4 Dec - 23:17

The tax has now been suspended. It just shows that large violent protests can have an effect.

Sary wrote:Didn't Macron win the presidency by significant margin? Fair and square.

It is no mystery that a liberal government = higher taxes. I see that the protests are becoming more violent. The vandalism is disgraceful. I hope that nobody is killed.

I read this last night: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-6452607/DOMINIC-LAWSON-hard-not-gloat-travails-pompous-French-president.html Quoting:

. . . This is chiefly the result of Macron scrapping France's wealth tax on all items apart from property assets and abolishing the top marginal band of payroll tax. The editor of the French financial daily, Les Echos, observed that 'Macron has effectively halved the tax paid by the very wealthy' and had been 'doing a belly dance to attract wealthy Londoners to Paris'. No wonder so many French people call him 'The President of the Rich'. Which would be a much less dangerous epithet in a country with a revolutionary tradition if Macron did not also appear so insensitive to the needs of those struggling to make ends meet — for whom the cost of fuel, especially in rural France, is a particular worry.

Macron has made himself the hero of the international green lobby by denouncing President Trump's abrogation of the Paris Accord on climate change (declaring 'We have no Planet B') and by introducing swingeing increases in fuel taxes. Over the past 12 months the price of diesel in France has risen by almost 25 per cent. This explains why the protesters are known as 'gilet jaunes' (yellow vests): they have taken to the streets wearing the high visibility clothing required, under French law, to be carried in every vehicle.

The demonstrators are numbered in their thousands, not millions. But — according to the most recent polls — their cause is backed by the overwhelming majority of the French people. The same polls show Macron's popularity is now even lower than his much-derided predecessor Francois Hollande at the same stage of his Presidency.

Sary Wed 5 Dec - 10:43

Lol...." Doing a belly dance to attract wealthy Londoners to Paris"

It sounds like Macron may soon be the President of the poor.
He is weak leader, succumbing to violence. I am very surprised that he won the election last year. He was very clear on his political platform.

I guess he was expecting the USA to keep funding his green politics.

What a mess.

Aëlwenn Thu 6 Dec - 1:33

Hello, sorry for my late return. Between my sick daughter and work schedules (the video game industry is sometimes extreme on this), I didn't have too much time.

I have read the previous messages above, and I have taken the time to prepare my opinion and explanations. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to translate them yet, so it will be for tomorrow evening (yes, I do teasing).

I think that to get an overview of the situation, you have to include a general overview. I will share several points with you.

How can one of the richest countries in the world, with some of the lowest poverty rates in Europe and one of the highest median incomes, generate dissatisfaction among part of the population?

Why is the yellow vest movement really a point of detail in the media (protests only on Saturdays, with 282,000 people in the first week and only 75,000 last Saturday in all of France, or just 0.11% of the population)?

Besides, sorry Jehan, I like you but I will also demonstrate the manipulation of polls, and that the French are far from supporting the movement in majority ^^

I will also explain why Macron will win no matter what, and that the Yellow Vests movement is a blessing for him.

And on the contrary, the way Marine Le Pen and Mélenchon will lose out.

Once again, the president of the National Rally made a big mistake and undoubtedly forever damaged the chance of winning the next election (but I strongly believe in her niece).

Macron has played a masterstroke, really.

And if the middle classes in the USA, in Great Britain to give concrete cases (Trump and Brexit), this will not be the case here.

And I think that the fact that in Germany the far right is now also wearing yellow vests confirms my ideas.

And I will explain in detail why I do not support the movement, and do not wish to support it, and that it strongly damages groups such as Identity Generations and Defends Europe.

Excuse me for making a presentation like a teasing, it may sound arrogant.

It's just that in I have so much to say and share, I just wanted to give a sign.

Our team from Austin has gone home, so I have a little more time, and I have a lot to share.

Good night ^^^

Aëlwenn Thu 6 Dec - 1:49

Sary wrote:Lol...." Doing a belly dance to attract wealthy Londoners to Paris"

It sounds like Macron may soon be the President of the poor.
He is weak leader, succumbing to violence. I am very surprised that he won the election last year. He was very clear on his political platform.

I guess he was expecting the USA to keep funding his green politics.

What a mess.

In fact, Paris is the city with the most super-rich people in Europe.

The city is one of the world's major financial centres, and the world's leading financial centre for green finance.

It has the 4th most attractive business district in the world.

But it is mainly focused on scientific research, high technology, financial services, for its main sectors.

When Les Echos talks about seducing rich Londoners, they talk about traders.

The City is the world's leading financial centre, and therefore has many traders and banks/insurance companies. With the Brexit, some of them go to the capitals located in the EU, mainly Paris and Frankfurt.

By recently regulating crypto-currency and block chains, in order to have an attractive framework, and to be pioneers in this field, it has taken the opportunity to take incentives towards traders and banks, in a much more discreet way.

Many American, Chinese and Middle Eastern banks have already chosen Paris since then, and London centres as well, in addition to the European Banking Regulatory Agency.

An example speaking of the measures taken, and not necessarily highlighted: France, already one of the 10 countries with the most rich and millionaires in the world, is in 2018, with the USA, the country that had the largest number and increase of millionaires.

Part of it is related to the increasingly strong growth of FrenchTech (an exciting subject from which I am more and more in the middle of it, I will post on it soon), a large part is due to the measures taken.

There is an American economist, I no longer know the name ( I will find him again) who said that France cultivates a schizophrenia of being both a capitalist and a social country ( in its support for its population). And, if this is a characteristic shared by some countries such as the Netherlands or Denmark, it is a rather special case because France is much more populated (then it is relative to the USA of course) than these countries.

Anyway, I get excited, it's very late. I could give you links if you want ^^

In any case, this is why some (not all of them lay him very far from the) call him the "president of the rich".

Sary Sat 8 Dec - 19:14

It is good to hear some positive things about France, I have always had a yearning to visit Paris. The stories in the news lately do not paint such a pretty picture.

The French people are still dissatisfied, even though Macron backed off the tax hike. The riots appear to be escalating. I read that the Eiffel Tower has been shut down due to the violence.
It is a shame really, that this is happening right before Christmas. It will no doubt hurt tourism and put a damper on holiday festivities.

I do not see how this could possibly be Macron's master stroke.
It sounds like it is an insurrection. maybe the protests have something to do with all of the immigrants that have flooded France in recent years?

I will be making my second visit to Europe this summer, this time to Utrecht, Netherlands.
My daughter says that this trip will be much different than when we went to England. I will get to experience "real Europe."

Who knows maybe I will have enough time to make a quick trip to France. Then I can once and for all see the country for myself and put to rest an delusions that I may have.

I really hope that things settle down soon.

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