Protests In France

Look at the tweets on this profile.....

https://twitter.com/Amreen__Rizvi

It's happened now for the 59th weekend in a row. When will it end? The nearest neighbours to our island and this is going off. Not that many are still aware of it as our own press don't seem to like doing stories on it.

 

Our press have done loads of stories on it.

a sure sign of a lame conspiracy theory is ‘they don’t want you to know about this’.

a quick search of ‘yellow vest protest’ brings up every major news network.

a related point though, is that we don’t care unless we’re told to. Most people would be hard pressed to give you any detail - but that’s down to their wilful ignorance more than a lack of reporting.

 

I believe that the core issue is that they are protesting about changes to pension provisions, similar to the ones we made here a few years ago, although the protests have become more a general protest about Macron's governance.

Difference between us is that France are very resistant to any change to their social system. Very laudable perhaps, but if it proves to be nigh on impossible to overhaul their pension system without the country burning then they are storing up huge problems for the next generation when it eventually becomes cripplingly unaffordable.

 

I bet you were gutted....

 

Unfortunately the current system is unsustainable - they want to get payed longer for not working then working given the average lifespan now. They have to accept that the boomers hit the mother load, and no one before or since will ever get the same benefits as they have.

 

Major protests attract a minority element that results in violence and retaliation from hard pressed police. HOWEVER, this does not appear to be the situation here where tens of thousands are being tear gassed, rubber bullets are being used indiscriminately and you have scenes of well equipped riot police laying into protestors and even kicking them in the face whilst they are pinned down, dragging them along the ground by their hair and beating them with batons whilst they lay on the ground.
If you get to the stage where so many protest, for so many weeks and the groundswell of opinion is NOT to condemn the protestors but the police and authorities then, as a government, you have totally failed. Even at the height of Brexit protests the level of violence and numbers of people prepared to carry out criminal acts was a fraction of what we are seeing in France. In part is is probably down to the UK police being more restrained (yes even the Met) and better trained but the opinions re Brexit were not as one sided as the current French situation. I think the nearest we came was during the Poll tax protests and that finally brought Tthe intransigent Thatcher Government down, but ultimately via the ballot box. Macron is showing the same stubborness and his popularity ratings are getting to the stage as being comparable with Thatcher and that is saying something!

 

And yet what's the figure? Top 1% own 50% of the world's wealth or something ridiculous?
I think there's plenty of cash available to give people a decent retirement if the ACTUAL proceeds if their efforts were appropriately portioned out.

 

They are largely having the biggest social struggle since we had under Thatcher. France is a different place to the UK though. Difficult to tell how it will pan out.

 

A LOT of French folk are supporting this.

The reforms are required to be fair, but the issue is Macron himself.

He’s trying to push through too many reforms too quickly. And the French won’t take it. Got to be a slow timely process for stuff to happen over there.

Also his popularity is dwindling and likely to be replaced by Le Pen next time round.

For those not familiar with the politics in France, it’s not far off the polar opposite to the U.K. really. Much of the youth support Le Pen (right wing) with the older generation more to the left/centre left (Macron).

Out of the major cities, many are pro-Frexit too. Interesting times ahead and have been for a while over there.

If you are travelling over there, don’t break any picket lines. But do peep your horn in support of them when you Pass them. Feel free to drop off biscuits to them and have a chat - they like the British support.

 

If you took all the money in the world and converted it to the US$ and shared it out equally with every person on the planet, there would be $1 million per person.

 

But then who would flip burgers in McDonald’s?

 

Over 90% of Africa don't have MacDonalds.

 

Macron was a bit of an unlikely Victor at the 2017 election getting only 21% of the vote in the first round . The playoff against le pen was a foregone conclusion . Fillon of the Républicain party was favourite until he got busted for corruption leaving the door open for macron . The Républicain party are in support of macrons reforms strangely enough though they are a traditional right wing party so I suppose it comes as no surprise . Will this open the door for le pen ? I doubt it . The media will smear her to death , pretty much what we saw at the last election in this country .

 

To be absolutely fair Le Pen is openly a fascist, comparing her to anyone more significant than Tommy Robinson in British politics is a stretch.

 

Not sure on this. She’s a lot more sensible than her father and has changed the party to become more Republican than Nationalist as well as changing a lot of the party’s views to become more modern and acceptable in society.

Time will tell, but she’s a popular and influential Politician in France, and to a degree has some media backing. That and the fact Macron is ‘hated’ in some areas, gives her a real chance.

 

Agreed . 30/40 years ago she would have been seen as a traditionalist , in the de Gaulle mould . Very popular with young voters I'm led to believe who ve seen their economic opportunities disappear in a cloud of smoke post 2008 .

 

I didn’t say she hasn’t a chance, I was comparing her views not her influence.

I was commenting that there’s no comparison between her and what’s going on in mainstream politics here.

Farage is nowhere near as right wing and has a phenomenally bad record electorally.

The scary part is that Tommy Robinson has encouraged his followers to join the Tory party, so what will they become.

 

40 years ago when rampant racism, homophobia etc were considered ‘normal’.

let’s not become apologists for this kind of crap by pretending it’s ‘traditional’.

 

Fair enough. But I believe her views and party aren’t as far right as made out. Yeah, she’s certainly right, but maybe mid-right.

And she has a lot of support in France because of it. What holds her back a bit, is the link to her father, who, as we all know was far right and totally unelectable in today’s society.

Like I say, head out of the Cities in France and you get a picture actually not too dissimilar to what we had here. Immigration, economy and EU issues. Which is fuelled further by the inept Macron who is seen to enjoy the EU relationship.