Meeting the ‘Gilets Jaunes’
A movement that sprouted from a tax on gas to fight climate change, the lower class of France felt the biggest economic impact and, Like good French citizens, they rioted. Emanuel Macron, the current center left president of France is known to pivot between a conservative economic government and a liberal ideology agenda; when the conservative ideology takes charge, those who suffer are those who make less. The tax was originally meant to transition the country to green energy however, because lower income families have to drive further from provinces outside of larger cities, as they already struggle to put food on the table, a tax on their means to do so felt like an attack on them and another win for the rich.
A ‘Gilet jaune’ is a yellow vest mandated to be present in all motorized French vehicles, essentially a common garment and a symbolistic vest to the tax being protested. 285,000 thousand people gathered together with their yellow vests on November 17th, 2018 to protest the tax. Since the peak of the tax, multiple other riots have sprouted, mostly with peaceful public disobedience, save for the individuals who are said to infiltrate and cause chaos. These people, according to the members whom we met during our dialogue are people who join the movement to have an opportunity to fight the police – and therefore taint the image of the movement. The protests are not supposed to have a leader they explained, rather, because the cause escalated from that of a tax to a protest of the current elitist government, the movement is supposed to be leader-less.
A leaderless movement with followers who do not believe in government. Over and over they explained that they do not think that a small few can represent the general public. “If so then, how should government be ran?” This was a question asked multiple times by the northeastern students avidly listening to them. Each time, the idea that a larger assembly who truly represented the ideals of the people should rule however, a detailed plan was never presented.
The people we met are everyday citizens of France who feel ‘stuck’. Who feel like the current government puts the priories of the few above that of the many. They are angry and want change but after many violent incidents all around the country, they are losing support. From the point of view of those on the dialogue with me, they supported the cause as presented by those in it but similarly opinionated that like those in the US with a similar pro country first idealistic view but without a plan, anarchy would surely ensure if such a movement ever took down the current form of democracy. At least, according to their critics.
It is a common saying that the Gilet Jaune are simply a symptom of a fractured France, much like rural America has recently seen a surge in political activism. As an activity of the dialogue, all students had something to say, opinionate on, and learn from experience. An example to them and to the activists that the same struggle, if not shared, is felt throughout western culture.
