Yellow vests protests

URL https://Persagen.com/docs/yellow_vests_protests.html
Sources Persagen.com  |  Wikipedia  |  other sources (cited in situ)
Source URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_vests_protests
Title Yellow vests protests
Subtitle Gilets jaunes protests
Date published 2022-02-01
Curation date 2022-02-01
Curator Dr. Victoria A. Stuart, Ph.D.
Modified
Editorial practice Refer here  |  Date format: yyyy-mm-dd
Summary The yellow vests protests or yellow jackets protests (French: Mouvement des gilets jaunes) were a series of populist grassroots weekly protests in France, at first for economic justice and later for institutional political reforms, that began in France on 2018-11-17. The movement spans the political spectrum; many of those protesting had showed political alienation by not voting, or had voted for far-right or far-left candidates. The movement has received international attention. Protesters in many places around the world (millions of participants) have used the yellow vest as a symbol.
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Yellow vests movement  |  Gilets jaunes protests
yellow_vests_protest-toulouse-2018-12-08.jpg

Yellow vest protesters in Toulouse (Occitania), 2018-12-08.

 
Key Points
 
Name Yellow vests protests
Description Part of the protests against Emmanuel Macron
Date 2018-11-17 - present [2022-02-01]
Location
  • France
  • Other countries: Show
Caused by
  • 2017 wealth tax repeal [Solidarity tax on wealth]
  • Austerity measures
  • Class conflict
  • Fuel tax
  • Globalisation
  • Immigration
  • Neoliberalism
  • Rise of crude oil prices in 2018
  • Traffic enforcement cameras
Goals
  • Increase of minimum wage in France
  • End to austerity measures
  • Improved standard of living
  • Government transparency and accountability
  • Improved government services for rural areas
  • Constitutional proposal for a citizens' initiative referendum, including constitutional, legislative, abrogative, and recall initiatives
Methods
  • Protests
  • Civil disobedience
  • Collectivist anarchism
  • Blocking traffic
  • Disabling traffic enforcement cameras
  • Strike action
Controversies
  • Barricades
  • Looting
  • Property damage
  • Rioting
  • Vandalism
  • Violence
Ideology
Contents

Background

The yellow vests protests or yellow jackets protests (French: Mouvement des gilets jaunes) were a series of populist   grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 2018-11-17, at first for economic justice and later for institutional political reforms.

After an online petition posted in 2018-05 had attracted nearly 1 million signatures, mass demonstrations began on 2018-11-17. The Yellow Vests movement was initially motivated by rising crude oil and fuel prices, a high cost of living, and economic inequality. The Yellow Vests movement claims that a disproportionate burden of taxation in France was falling on the working class and middle classes, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. The protesters have called for lower fuel taxes, a reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth, a minimum wage increase, among other things. On 2018-11-29 a list of 42 demands was made public and went viral on social media, becoming de facto a structuring basis for the movement, covering a wide range of eclectic topics, mostly related to democracy, and social justice and fiscal justice. After President Emmanuel Macron made an address on TV on 2018-12-10 announcing the cancellation of the fuel tax increase and other social measures, the Yellow Vests movement evolved, and the citizens' initiative referendums became its unique revendication. Participation in the weekly protests diminished due to violence, particularly due to the loss of eyes, hands, and other neurological disorders caused by police blast balls. The protests eventually stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

The Yellow Vests movement spans the political spectrum. According to one poll, few of those protesting had voted for Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 French presidential election; many had showed political alienation by not voting, or had voted for far-right or far-left candidates. Rising fuel prices initially sparked the demonstrations. Yellow high-visibility vests, which French law requires all drivers to have in their vehicles and to wear during emergency situations, were chosen as "a unifying thread and call to arms" because of their convenience, visibility, ubiquity, and association with working-class industries. The protests have involved demonstrations and the blocking of roads and fuel depots, some of which developed into major riots, described as the most violent since those of May 68. The police action, resulting in multiple incidences of loss of limb, has been criticized by politicians and international media; it has sometimes resulted in police officers being charged for their violent behavior. The Yellow Vests movement has received international attention. Protesters in many places around the world have used the yellow vest as a symbol of protest. About 3 million people participated in the Yellow Vests movement.

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    Yellow Vest Symbol

    No one knows how the high-visibility yellow vest came to be chosen as the symbol and uniform for the Yellow Vests movement, and no one has claimed to be its originator. The Yellow Vests movement originated with French motorists from rural areas who had long commutes protesting against an increase in fuel taxes, wearing the yellow vests that, under a 2008 French law, all motorists are required to keep in their vehicles and to wear in case of emergency. The symbol has become "a unifying thread and call to arms" because yellow vests are common and inexpensive, easy to wear over any clothing, associated with working class industries, highly visible, and widely understood as a distress signal. As the Yellow Vests movement grew to include grievances beyond fuel taxes, non-motorists in France put on yellow vests and joined the demonstrations, as did protesters in other countries with diverse (and sometimes conflicting) grievances of their own. In the words of one commentator, "The uniform of this revolution is as accessible as the frustration and fury."

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    Yellow Vests Protests in Canada

    In Canada, the Yellow Vests movement is a far-right movement and alt-right movement. Starting in late 2018 after the France protests, Canadian yellow vests groups began to gain popularity. Canadian yellow vests groups incorporate a xenophobic message, are against the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, and are pro-petrochemical-pipelines, but is primarily focused on anti-immigrationanti-Islamanti-semitic and white supremacist

    Beginning in late December [2018-12], various yellow-vest wearing protest movements have been seen across Canada. This protest movement, known as Yellow Vests Canada, does not follow the same goals as the French movement. Protests have had occasional outbreaks of violence. Groups of various protesters wearing yellow vests have taken place in at least a 30 cities and towns across Canada as of 2019-01.

    On 2019-06-15 a number of Yellow Vests Canada protesters joined groups protesting LGBT individuals at a Pride festival in Hamilton, Ontario, and several people were injured.

    "United We Roll" Truck Convoy of 2019

    A controversial event in 2019-02 known as the "United We Roll" truck convoy attracted several Yellow Vest participants to the grounds of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. Prominent political officials such as federal [then] Conservative Party of Canada leader Andrew Scheer and People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier addressed the crowd. Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier drew criticism for appearing at the United We Roll event when it was revealed that alt-right personality   Faith Goldy - formerly of controversial internet outlet Rebel Media - was also in attendance and made a presentation to the participants, several of whom carried signs and chanted slogans accusing Prime Minister   Justin Trudeau of "treason" and demanding that Canada withdraw from the non-binding United Nations   Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Conservative Party of Canada Senator David Tkachuk, also at the rally, was criticized for his remarks calling upon truck drivers to "roll over every Liberal left in the country".

    Liberal Party of Canada Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi and New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen were among the members of the Parliament of Canada who expressed concern that the presence of mainstream political leaders at the rally was lending legitimacy to the movement. Anti-racism activist Evan Balgord - director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network - condemned Andrew Scheer for his support of an organization whose members have repeatedly promulgated conspiracy theories and made death threats against Muslims, immigrants, members of Parliament, and Prime Minister Trudeau. A spokesperson for Andrew Scheer denied that the Conservative Party of Canada leader intended to lend support to racist and/or violent groups, telling columnist Martin Patriquin that "We can't control who shows up to these events."

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