France

Blacking Out The Yellow Vests On Cable News: Corporate Media Doing Its Job

December 13, 2018 Paul Street, Counterpunch.org Educate! Class Struggle, Corporate Media, France

The deletion of events that don’t fit with the reigning ideology is part of how ruling class-owned media works to manufacture mass consent to unjust hierarchy. I spent much of last week in a cable-television-equipped U.S.-American apartment with CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News at my fingertips. As I inhabited this abode, flicking between sports and cable news, a political crisis of the state was unfolding in one of the world’s richest and most powerful states. France was gripped by an historic working- and middle-class uprising. In the biggest popular unrest seen there since May of 1968, many hundreds of thousands of Gilets Jaunes (“yellow vests”) took to French roadways and other public space in their fourth straight week of explosive mass protests.

French Lessons: People Standing Up Have Power

December 10, 2018 By Finian Cunningham, Sputniknews.com Resist! Capitalism, France, Protests

French people are standing up for their rights and speaking out for many others around the world who are sick at the injustice of capitalism. None more so than people of Western states who have had to endure decades of economic austerity while a tiny elite become ever more obscenely wealthy. In addition to the irrational malign distribution of wealth that capitalism bestows, Western states — that is, the oligarch-serving politicians — spend and waste inordinate financial resources on militarism and waging criminal wars. For the fourth weekend in a row, the French public have taken to the streets of Paris and other major cities to demand economic justice.

How The West Eats Its Children

December 10, 2018 By Thierry Meyssan, Voltairenet.org Educate! Capitalism, Class Struggle, France

International relations experienced a profound change with the paralysis of the Soviet Union in 1986, when the State was unable to control the civilian nuclear incident in Tchernobyl [1], then with the revocation of the Warsaw Pact in 1989, when the East German Communist Party [2] destroyed the Berlin Wall, and finally, with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. At that time, the President of the United States, George Bush Sr., decided to demobilise one million soldiers and devote the efforts of his country to its own prosperity. He wanted to transform US hegemony within its zone of influence, and expand it into that of the leader of the world, the guarantor of world stability.

France’s “Yellow Vest” Protesters Brave Repression And Mass Arrests

December 10, 2018 Alex Lantier and Kumaran Ira, Wsws.org Resist! Arrest, Class Struggle, France, Protests

For the fourth consecutive Saturday, “yellow vest” (gilet jaunes) protestors demonstrated yesterday across France against the rightwing government of Emmanuel Macron. They did so in defiance of ominous threats of state violence and a massive mobilization of security forces. Clearly, the French President’s attempts to end the protests, first by postponing the gas tax hikes that set the movement into motion and then by canceling them outright, failed. The demands being raised—for social equality and against militarism and dictatorship—show that this is a movement directed towards the defense of workers’ interests, not just in France, but also internationally.

What The ‘Yellow Vests’ Movement Tells Us About The Massive Level Of Discontent In France

December 7, 2018 By Marie Brunerie, Dcmediagroup.us Resist! Class Struggle, France, Protests, Workers Rights and Jobs

It all started three weeks ago when a social media-launched campaign against the announcement of a price hike on fuel turned viral and almost instantaneously rallied tens of thousands of people. “Enough is enough!” they cried out. The tax rise was aimed at injecting money into a climate-related support program. But, yet another tax increase was too hard to swallow for these working- and middle-class citizens who both feel–and objectively are–written off. Average citizens gathered at traffic circles in mass protests to show their despondency, all sporting the yellow safety vests required to be carried in every car. The vast majority of them were protesting for the very first time in their lives.

Why French Working Poor Demand Emmanuel Macron’s resignation

December 6, 2018 Oliver Davis, The Conversation. Resist! France, Gilets Jaunes, Revolution

Over the last month, France has witnessed the sudden emergence of a militant populist movement which enjoys strong support from the wider population. The “gilets jaunes” are named after those yellow hi-vis vests which French law requires drivers to carry in their car, along with a warning triangle and other paraphernalia, for use in the event of a breakdown. Hundreds of thousands of very ordinary French citizens have donned their vests and taken to the streets in protest. The movement began in October, with an online petition against rising fuel prices.

Self-Organized Yellow Vest Movement Threatens Macron Regime In France

December 4, 2018 Richard Greeman, Indypendent.org Resist! Class Struggle, France, Protests, Yellow Vest

Ignored by the president, distorted by the media, courted by the right, snubbed by the left, the self-organized mass movement known as the Yellow Vests is seriously challenging the political and economic order in France. In Paris, on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 1, as thousands of self-organized Yellow Vest protestors attempted to gather to express their grievances on the Champs-Elysées at a planned, peaceful demonstration, French riot police attacked them with tear-gas, flash-bombs and water cannons. By the end of the day, cars were burning near the Arc of Triumph, and all of Paris was in chaos. Groups of would-be peaceful marchers, joined by the usual casseurs (‘smashers’), spread throughout the capital, expressing their anger at the system and calling for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.

Third “Yellow Vest” Protest In France Defies Government Crackdown

December 3, 2018 Anthony Torres, Wsws.org Resist! Class Struggle, France, Protests, Repression, Workers

The third Saturday protest held by protesters, clad in yellow vests to show their opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron and his anti-worker policies, spread across France. In downtown Paris, the protesters faced an unprecedented police crackdown, the most violent since May 1968, when police assaults on student demonstrations triggered the French general strike. The movement is rapidly developing into an international political protest against social inequality, the high cost of living, and the policies of austerity and war across Europe. After protests in France and Belgium, protesters also donned yellow vests to oppose state policies in Maastricht, Nijmegen and The Hague in the Netherlands.

France: ‘We will NOT Let The US Be Policeman Of The World’

November 10, 2018 James Bickerton, Express.co.uk Educate! Europe, France, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, US Imperialism

The comments were made by Bruno Le Maire, French economy minister, during an interview with the Financial Times. He claimed: “Europe refuses to allow the US to be the trade policeman of the world.” President Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal Mr Obama signed with Iran in 2015 and has reimposed a range of economic sanctions. He has repeatedly threatened punitive action against any European companies which ignore these sanctions and continue doing business with Iran. Mr Le Maire argued the US measures threaten the EU’s “economic sovereignty” and urged the bloc to “affirm our independence”.

The ZAD: Revenge Against The Commons

July 15, 2018 By John Jordan, Red Pepper Resist! Commons, France, ZAD

From making our own bread to running a pirate radio station, planting herbal medicine gardens to making ‘rebel camembert’, from a rap recording studio to a pasta production workshop, an artisanal brewery to two blacksmiths’ forges, a communal justice system to a library and even a full-scale working lighthouse – the ZAD has become a new commune for the 21st century. This beautifully-imperfect utopia in resistance against an airport has been supported by a radically diverse popular movement, bringing together tens of thousands of anarchists and farmers, trade unionists and naturalists, environmentalists and students, locals and revolutionaries of every flavour. Everything changed on 17 January 2018, when the French prime minister appeared on TV to cancel the airport project – and in the same breath declare that the ZAD, the ‘outlaw zone’, would be evicted and ‘law and order’ restored.

France: Farmers Block Refineries To Protest Palm Oil Import

June 12, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net Resist! Blockades, Farmers, France, Palm Oil, Protests

In France, some 200 farmers dumped dirt on the roads leading to the Total refinery in Grandpuits as well as parked about 40 tractors to form blockades. Farmers in France have blocked access to several oil depots and refineries in protest – that is organized to last three days – against the proposed use of imported palm oil at a Total biofuel plant. According to the president of the National Federation of Agricultural Holders’ Unions, Christiane Lambert, 13 sites will be blocked early Monday following five that were blocked on Sunday. The companies, on the other hand, have urged people to not panic-buy gas as it would result in shortages. Some 200 farmers dumped dirt on the roads leading to the Total refinery in Grandpuits Sunday night, as well as parked about 40 tractors, president of the Jeunes Agricultures, Sebastien Guerinot, said.

French Revolt Against Macron’s Support For Israel

May 25, 2018 Ali Abunimah, Electronicintifada.net Resist! France, Israel, Protests

Israel’s massacre of dozens of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip last Monday is sharpening the divide between the French public and the country’s staunchly pro-Israel leaders. Even before the latest massacre, one of France’s international giants, film director Jean-Luc Godard, had joined dozens of cultural figures saying they would refuse to take part in French government “cultural” activities designed to promote Israel. Since Monday, people have demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians all over the country, including thousands in the streets of Paris.

The Revenge Against The Commons Of The ZAD

May 17, 2018 John Jordan, Roarmag.org Resist! France, Repression

Why French police, in its biggest operation since May 68, is prepared to kill for Macron’s neoliberal nightmare — and how the ZAD fought back. This is a long-read by one of the inhabitants of the Zone à Défendre (ZAD) of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, about the rollercoaster fortnight of rural riots that has just taken place to evict the liberated territory in western France. It’s been incredibly intense and hard to find a moment to write, but we did our best. This is simply one viewpoint; there are over 1,000 people on the ZAD at the moment and every one of them could tell a different story. Thanks to all the friends and comrades who helped by sharing their stories, rebel spirits and lemon juice against the teargas.

Transportation Strikes, University Protests Continue To Shake France

April 19, 2018 Staff, France24.com Resist! Class Struggle, France, Higher Education, Strikes, Student Protests, Transportation

To Macron’s dismay, the popular movements show no signs of slowing down. The Air France tussle over salaries is separate from the larger and politically more significant stand-off between Macron’s centrist, business-friendly government and the public sector trade unions fighting its reform plans. Rail unions are particularly up in arms over proposed reforms that they say would reduce job security. Students have been blocking several public universities over Macron’s plan to introduce more selective applications. There is a general atmosphere of social discontent against Macron’s reforms, including protests and strikes by civil servants, energy workers and garbage collectors. Recently, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire admitted that, while he couldn’t produce numbers, it was clear that the strikes were impacting growth.

Strikes By Railway Workers And Aircrews Paralyze France

April 5, 2018 Staff, Wsws.org Resist! Class Struggle, France, Strikes, Transportation

Seventy-seven percent of the train drivers and 69 percent of the inspectors were on strike. As a result, seven out of eight long-distance trains [TGVs], four out of five regional trains and two out of three local trains were canceled. The SNCF expects train cancellations to remain high on Wednesday. In the next three months, the railroad workers want to continue their labor struggle. The strike will alternate between two days of strike action and three days of work. Air France had to cancel around one third of the long distance and medium distance flights because of the strike, and half of the domestic flights were canceled. More strikes are planned for the 10th and 11th of April. While the strike at Air France is focused on higher wages, railroad workers are directly engaged in a power struggle with President Macron's government.

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