On Saturday, Paris was a battleground. Police fought Yellow Vest protestors, railing in the aftermath of the Notre Dame fire (here).
The Antifa-like blackhoods set trash cans, scooters, and a car on fire. They also threw rocks at police.
Fox reports the melee came in response to Cathedral restoration efforts:
Many protesters are frustrated that the international effort to help Notre Dame has drawn more attention than their five-month-old Yellow Vest movement against wealth inequality, The Associated Press reported.
Many…were deeply saddened by the fire at a national monument. But many are angry at the [donations] that poured in from tycoons while their own demands remain largely unmet and they struggle to make ends meet.
5,000 officers were unleashed on the rallying revolutionaries, and by early afternoon, 126 people had been arrested.
Spot checks were made on the more than 11,000 people attempting entry into the capital.
At a march, tear gas was fired. Firefighters had to respond to set-ablaze barricades and burning branches.
But this isn’t their first rodeo; the Yellow Vests have been demonstrating for months over a growing economic struggle.
According to Reuters, next week, the country’s president — Emmanuel Macron — will announce a new campaign to deal with the rallyers, who are in their 23rd week of protest.
They’re raging, but are they right?
Forbes puts it this way:
Macron and the government have contributed to triggering the Yellow Vest protests – but the root issues lie far deeper than this presidency.
The accumulation of measures with direct, individual impact (increase of the carbon tax, abolishing of wealth tax and increase of the general social security tax (“CSG”)) which Macron implemented in the first six months of his presidency were the last straw for those who would become the Yellow Vests: Macron’s “President of the rich”-policies contributed to a broader perception that the standard of living was falling for many French. Multiple comments the president made were perceived as being completely detached from the reality of the average French, nourishing the sentiment that the political elite does not understand their problems.
Lawlessness, arson, and violence in the streets cannot be tolerated in a civil society. At the same time, France’s leadership is clearly failing a lot of people (see streiff’s coverage of the situation here and here).
The country is in desperate need of change. If the land of Quiche Lorraine and Crème Brûlée doesn’t get it together, the whole place is gonna be in the soup. And I don’t mean French Onion.
-Alex
Myelevant RedState links in this article: here
See 3 more pieces from me:
This Hilarious 1986 SNL Sketch Absolutely Nails The Left’s Portrayal Of Donald Trump
Alyssa Milano Humiliates Herself By Tweeting Out Breaking News That Happened Before She Was Born
Find all my RedState work here.
And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below. For iPhone instructions, see the bottom of this page.
If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member