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RAS BOL! The Yellow Vest Brigade

[QUOTE

Protest timeline
  • 17 November: 282,000 protesters - one dead, 409 wounded - 73 in custody
  • 24 November: 166,000 protesters - 84 wounded - 307 in custody
  • 1 December: 136,000 protesters - 263 wounded - 630 in custody
  • 8 December : 136,000 protesters - 118 wounded - 1,220 in custody
A total of 1 dead, 874 wounded and 2,230 in custody!!.... .

Have no idea if the French Courts are as lenient as our ones, so would be interesting to see how many get custodial sentences, or just a fine.[/QUOTE]

Just done a bit of quick research and it would appear that, all over the country, these people are being dealt with severely with fixed prison sentences. That applied to the individuals below, who didn't actually get to the demonstration but were found to be in possession of dangerous items (tear gas canister, taser, petanque ball etc) on their way to the demo.

http://www.leparisien.fr/hauts-de-s...lets-jaunes-a-nanterre-10-12-2018-7965237.php
 
For those sitting comfortably, on the other side of the Channel, watching the revolting french with a certain (smug satisfaction?)................I have news for you. Well, more some thoughts that could be interesting to consider and reflect on.
I'm just wondering whether the whole European political structure is changing under our very eyes..............and incredibly quickly. It was a pet theory of mine, some years ago, that the political system which offered a choice of left or right in fact gave a choice of tweedledum and Tweedledee. Whether it was Blair, Maior or Cameron in the UK or Mitterand, Chirac or Hollande in France, nothing much changed in the structure of society. It did make me wonder how long people would put up with this kind of sham. In fact they would probably have continued to accept the situation, with its built in inequalities................if it hadn't been for the events and consequences of 2008. With litle advance in their standard of living and indeed getting worse off, whilst the rich are seen to be getting richer and richer, it's getting to a point where the masses are seemingly no longer prepared to accept their lot.
I see a very close resemblance between Brexit and the gilet jaune movement in France, I think they are manifestations of the same ill. The worrying thing is that the french appear to have pushed the process a bit further down the road and have established a method of direst protest that we could well see being adopted in other countries. The fact that their amorphous organisation propelled by social media, can cause such critical damage to a country's economy seems to worry them little.............what have they to lose? (they would say). In the same way the Remain camp warned of the economic consequences of Brexit, to little effect.
The normal procedure here is that protests are taken up by the union and negotiation brings about some kind of agreement and settlement. This doesn't appear to be the way out this time...............just who do you negotiate with? Concessions were made last Monday by the President. This weekend there are a whole new set of demands from different factions in the group. One prominent idea being promoted today was RIC ("rassemblement d'initiative citoyenne") This seems to be an idea that a selected group of people could change or direct government policy by a kind of 'direct democracy.' https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2018/...-revendication-phare-du-mouvement_a_23618934/ Funnily enough there was a girl in the 'Question Time' audience last Thursday who suggested the same notion. For someone who has believed in the stability of strong governments being elected for a term, this idea seems a bit chaotic and unstable. I suppose I'm of the belief that one should reform the present electoral system before throwing the baby out with the bath water..............may be it's too late for that?
So, the chaos we are presently witnessing is a particularly French phenomena? Perhaps not. Is it too far stretched to imagine a situation in the UK, in the near future, where either side of the Brexit debate find themselves angry, disenfranchised and willing to adopt the kind of direct action we're now seeing in France? How the world is so rapidly changing in a very worrying way.
 

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