The French “Yellow Vests” movement and its spreading across Europe
In November, a new movement
appeared in France: the gilets jaunes
or “Yellow Vests” movement, a wide group of citizens, who gather together to
protest against the French government and against President Emmanuel Macron’s
economic policies.
The movement started with a fuel
tax rise and fed up citizens who called for protests on social media. The first
protest took place on November 17, 2018. Since then, the protesters have participated
in roadblocks, barricades of roundabouts, blockades of fuel depots, and weekly gatherings
every Saturday wearing yellow vests. In France, it is mandatory for drivers to
have a yellow vest in each car for visibility on the road in case of a car
crash or breakdown. As such, the protesters are wearing them to metaphorically become
visible again.
The protesters have no official
political affiliation. They come from different regions and, have different
backgrounds, but they have something in common: they cannot or struggle to make
ends meet every month and feel ignored by the government.
Experts thought that this movement
would quickly die out due to a lack of structure, but this did not happen. On
January 19, 2019 another protest took place – the tenth event. The French
movement even received the support of the Italian Deputy Prime Ministers. The
movement is now spreading across Europe: in Belgium, citizens have claims
similar to those in France; in the United Kingdom, pro-Brexit protesters are
wearing yellow vests; and in the Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Sweden, and
Germany, the Yellow Vests movement continues to spread.
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