Never realised I hadn't included the link but you have so ta for that.

"Since then, his campaign - like his leadership - has been criticised for being too rigid, too hierarchical, too arrogant and aloof. Now, with has approval ratings falling steeply, he's faced with a real grassroots movement, what will his response be?"

Without a name, there would be other "world leaders" that come to mind :D

:har:

I'm having a hard time thinking of one who doesn't come to mind.

Gimme a minute......

Nope.:O:

:har:

* Yellow vests converge in Paris to protest high living costs
* Militants hurl projectiles at riot police near Champs-Elysees
* Police fire tear gas, stun grenades, water cannon
* Protesters skirmish with police in other French cities
* Officials feared infiltration by far-left, far-right groups

"We are in a state of insurrection, I've never seen anything like it," said Jeanne d'Hauteserre, the mayor of Paris' 8th district, near the Arc de Triomphe.
http://news.trust.org/item/20181201213945-0zp86

The violence of latest days seem to be originating not from the yellow jackets, but the so-called "casseurs" (destroyers), a block of anti-social dirtbags and militant chaots that have not much on mind with the movement of yellow jackets, but hides in its middle and from here starts to cause havoc where ever they can. Officials say there are ten thousand of them. That the yellow jackets have not organised themselves, have not formed any leadership", no structures, now takes revenge, it reminds me of the hijacking of Lucke's original AfD by rightwingers that turned the AfD into what it is now.


The naivety behind letting this hjcking happen time and again, is remarkable. The yellow jackets find proper discreditation now, since they get held responsible for the crimes committed by the destroyers.


And who knows, maybe the appearance of the casseurs is not by random chance at all. Discreditting the yellow jackets is in Macronman'sS interest now, he wants to play this tough it seems, and the political - and highly centralised - elitary class of France is far more disconnected from the ordinary people than in most other Western countries. The French secret service is not known for its shyness.



Anyway, the less of Macronman'S visions for the even more socialist redistributional EU get realised, the better for German savers, pensioneers and tax payers alike. So let Paris burn - I take note of it, but thats all.

Very true, Skybird.

It still astounds me that the police cannot contain the bad elements of these protests.
Yeah, same happens here. People with legitimate concerns want to assemble and suddenly out of the woodwork appears all these thugs in hoodies and masks.

My solution: the police can tackle any and all people they see who are being violent. Then it's up to the courts to serve out some justice. I bet this stuff would stop if thugs were given 5 years in federal prison.

Or the return of madame guillotine :03:

I dont know how it is in Franc,e but in Germany the courts are beoynd lockdown point. The mass of request-for-related cases have drowned the German system and many courts areunable to work without many months, sometimes years of delays. Many usual street crimes and lower crimes do not get persecuted even if there is an arrest, the suspects being released, because there is no chance to process them within the various legal time limits the laws demand to be kept. Worse: this is growing, it is growing by trend and intensity, in all 16 federal states. Even in Bavaria, which has the most intact police and the most rigid court system of all in Germany. With the German parliament now havign agreed on the UN migration pact that is just an appetioizer for even more foriengers starting to move here, and that will be not leaving again without resisting to that by all legal - and often also illegal - means, an easing of the pressure the German courts are under is not in sight.

Most arrested people from the streetwar in Hamburg over one year ago - were released meanwhile and/or charges were dropped, since the courts have no chance to deal with them just in time.

In England, I remember I read, they had started to release even serious criminals early from prison, just because to make room in overcrowded prisons. This I read some years ago already.

Should we expect France to be that much different? The system overload is not limited to just one or two nations.

I do not want a load of French Toffs crossing the Channel stinking up the place wih their smelly cheese thank you! :stare:

The “yellow vest” rebellion erupted out of nowhere on Nov. 17, with protesters blocking roads across France and impeding access to some shopping malls, fuel depots and airports. Violent groups from the far right and far left as well as youths from the suburbs infiltrated Saturday’s protests, the authorities said.

“We won’t change course. We are certain of that,” he [Macron] told Europe 1 radio.

Some bystanders cheered, others jeered and called on him to resign. So too did Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who both demanded the government unwind its fuel tax hikes. They called for parliament to be dissolved and snap elections held.

“The violence is increasing at an exponential rate,” said Claude, a resident in the affluent 16th district. “The state is losing control, it is scary. They cannot let this happen. Maybe the army should intervene.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-f...-idUSKBN1O1072

Vive la révolution! :Kaleun_Cheers:

Because of fuel prices?
Seems that is when people really get mad. Not war, or starving.. fuel! That is where it hurts! The french have it so bad!

Of course i know there are a lot of other reasons and that this was only the spark, but still ..
So Macron wants to raise the age of retirement from 60 to 62 years!?

Outrageous! Chaos!! Leader Marine LePen to the rescue! :doh:



Steed: "Spoken like a true Brit" :haha: :O:

Have you ever experienced the dread of barely being able to pay the bills, morgage and other costs of life at the end of each month? When salaries stagnate and barely raise but prices goes up a lot kind of makes one feel being pushed towards the edge especially if all you do is work work work to just survive the end of the month.

As for Fuel being the spark, isn't it obvious? What you need Fuel for? That's right it's to fuel your Cars, Vans and Trucks and what you need those for? Work! So ofcourse it happens to be the last straw since ones transportation is essential to pay the bills.

Regarding being able to pay bills, i have been there not so long ago. However my first idea in such circumstances is to sell the car, because it is luxury. You can always use the public transportation system.

Which certainly does not apply when you really need a car to earn your money. Especially when you are self-employed, or own a company. However the latter mostly pass the costs on to the customers..

What do you do against unnecessary greed, from products you need for living, to oil prices? Wouldn't it be better to have another (than oil) resource for commuting, and transport :hmmm:
But yes, forcing taxes obviously does not take account of the present social situation. The road to hell is plastered with good intentions..

So yes, you are right.


edit: still, i cannot see another government (left or right) being able to rise the worker's salary at a 35 percent to soothe the masses, as they did in the 1950ies. Both cannot, and the latter will not even want to.