[Cog]

The Yellow Jackets are just as big of socialists as the government they are protesting against. They do not mind taxes. But they don't want their socialism to be disturbed by actually paying taxes themselves. More of a free stuff movement like Occupy Wall Street.

[dolanbaker]

The Yellow Jackets are just as big of socialists as the government they are protesting against. They do not mind taxes. But they don't want their socialism to be disturbed by actually paying taxes themselves. More of a free stuff movement like Occupy Wall Street.

Not really, the original protesters, those in week one and two were mainly middle income earners who were being screwed by increases in taxation.
The very people who are usually the most compliant members of society.

[dolanbaker]

According to the BBC number of protesters is far too large to be considered "fringe lunatics".

The "yellow vest" protests have been "a catastrophe" for the French economy, the finance minister says.
France has seen four consecutive weekends of demonstrations against fuel tax rises, high living costs, and other issues.
About 125,000 protesters took to the streets on Saturday, with more than 1,700 people arrested.
Several tourist sites, including the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum, are closed this weekend.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called the situation "a crisis" for both society and democracy.
"It's a catastrophe for commerce, it's a catastrophe for our economy," he said during a visit to shops in Paris that had been damaged during the protests.
The capital was particularly badly hit, with windows smashed, cars burned, and shops looted, as 10,000 people took part in demonstrations.


"There was much more damage yesterday than a week ago" because Saturday's protests were more dispersed, deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told local radio.
However, he added that there had been fewer injuries compared with last week.

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 - 1,723 arrested

[onlooker]

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/1 ... therlands/

Police Fight Yellow Vests at EU HQ as Protests Spread to Belgium, Netherlands

Our children are hard-working people but they have to pay taxes everywhere. You can’t get housing anymore. It is not going well in Dutch society,” Ieneke said. “The social welfare net we grew up with is gone,” she said.

“The government is not there for the people. It is there to protect its own interests,” she said.

Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks.

Instead, protesters Saturday appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power.

___

[dolanbaker]

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/08/police-fight-yellow-vests-at-eu-hq-as-protests-spread-to-belgium-netherlands/

Police Fight Yellow Vests at EU HQ as Protests Spread to Belgium, Netherlands

Our children are hard-working people but they have to pay taxes everywhere. You can’t get housing anymore. It is not going well in Dutch society,” Ieneke said. “The social welfare net we grew up with is gone,” she said.

“The government is not there for the people. It is there to protect its own interests,” she said.

Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks.

Instead, protesters Saturday appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power.

___

It's difficult to know whether the protests are simply against "big government" or the EU, I tend to think that they're mainly against big government imposing too many "one size fits all" policies, importing migrants rather than getting the locals to work is a major issue in many places, no attempts to move those "surplus jobs" to the regions with high unemployment. Instead importing cheap labour from MENA countries.

[onlooker]

"EU Army Deployed To Paris To Crush French Revolution"
https://newspunch.com/eu-army-deployed- ... 8J7DR-MsX8

[dolanbaker]

"EU Army Deployed To Paris To Crush French Revolution"
https://newspunch.com/eu-army-deployed- ... 8J7DR-MsX8

err, no, French police water cannons.
The EU army is still a wet dream of the EU elite.

Anyway, Macron has retreated a few more steps!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46513189
France's President Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage rise and tax concessions in response to weeks of violent protests.
France has seen four weekends of violent protests against fuel tax rises, living costs and other issues.
Speaking in a televised address, Mr Macron condemned the violence but said the protesters' anger was "deep, and in many ways legitimate".
The minimum wage would increase by €100 per month from 2019, he said.
A planned tax increase for low-income pensioners would be cancelled, overtime pay would no longer be taxed, and employers would be encouraged to pay a tax-free end of year bonus to employees, he added.

However, he refused to reinstate a tax on the wealthy, saying "this would weaken us, we need to create jobs".

Has he done enough, only time will tell, the wealth tax is a big issue.

[onlooker]

He better reinstate tax on the wealthy and fast, or else he is a goner. Oh and the EU army quote was from the article

[dolanbaker]

He better reinstate tax on the wealthy and fast, or else he is a goner. Oh and the EU army quote was from the article

The article is probably fake news, a few ruskie based news streams have been discovered egging up the protests, but the French were so pissed off they didn't need any external prodding.

[KaiserJeep]

You are all being deceptive. The yellow jacket protests are specifically about carbon taxes that penalize middle class workers with job losses and unaffordable fuels.

This remains true in spite of anybody else's agenda concerning AGW or anything else. The elites and the wanna-be-elites like the rest of you will not force an environmental agenda that will impoverish and starve the Middle Class.

So get off your high horses and acknowledge that most humans choose to preserve their present lifestyles. Few will sacrifice comfort or health for nebulous and uncertain climate change benefits.

[onlooker]

Sorry, Kaiser you are wrong on this. This is about people fed up with Govts. and the Rich squeezing the masses ever more even as they continue to bring in the profits. Deceptive is the gas tax for CC, in reality it is just another way to funnel money from the masses to the elite, corporations and Govt. Kaiser, people are reaching the tipping point economically and in tolerance for the corrupt system of Plutocracy which is rewarding a few and penalizing many. The rule of money is reaching its end days.

[onlooker]

47129562_2447029068646230_3224089386257743872_n.jpg

[Plantagenet]

Nice post, Onlooker.

Sounds like things in France are surprisingly similar to the way they are in the USA.

Cheers!

[Cog]

So they got the socialism that they voted for over the decades?

Didn't they understand there is always an elite at the top of every socialist and communist regime, while the serfs suffer down below?

[KaiserJeep]

From Wikipedia:

The taxes collected on the sale of fuel are:

The domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE, la Taxe intérieure de consommation sur les produits énergétiques), which is not calculated based on the price of oil, but rather at a fixed rate by volume. Part of this tax, paid at the pump, goes to regional governments, while another portion goes to the national government. Since 2014, this tax has included a carbon component—increased each year—in an effort to reduce fossil fuel consumption. The TICPE for diesel fuel was raised sharply in 2017 and 2018 to bring it to the same level as the tax on petrol.
Value added tax (VAT), calculated on the sum of the price excluding tax and the TICPE. Its rate has been stable at 20% since 2014, after having been at 19.6% between 2000 and 2014.

The protest movement against fuel prices mainly concerns individuals, as a number of professions and activities benefit from partial or total exemptions from TICPE.

Motivated by rising fuel prices, the high cost of living and claims that a disproportionate burden of the government's tax reforms were falling on the working and middle classes (especially those in rural and peri-urban areas), protesters have called for reductions in fuel taxes, the reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth, the raising of the minimum wage, and the resignation of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

A lot of people with agendas of their own would make this out as something more than it is. These folks are in France and elsewhere, including here at PeakOil. This is not an organized resistance and there is no leader, nor is there a manifesto. The most common theme is the carbon tax because of the escalation it causes in fuel prices.

They haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until they try a carbon tax in the USA. There are more streetlights than Senabores and Congress Critters, and a street light decorated with a politician in a noose is a joy to see.

[yellowcanoe]

Nice post, Onlooker.

Sounds like things in France are surprisingly similar to the way they are in the USA.

Cheers!

Except that in France groups that are upset are far more likely to engage in violent protest because this is invariably effective in getting the government to back down.

[onlooker]

Nice post, Onlooker.

Sounds like things in France are surprisingly similar to the way they are in the USA.

Cheers!

Thanks Plant, still waiting for our revolution here in US.

[Subjectivist]

Nice post, Onlooker.

Sounds like things in France are surprisingly similar to the way they are in the USA.

Cheers!

Thanks Plant, still waiting for our revolution here in US.

I prefer the ballot box to the bullet box.

[dissident]

Nice post, Onlooker.

Sounds like things in France are surprisingly similar to the way they are in the USA.

Cheers!

Thanks Plant, still waiting for our revolution here in US.

I prefer the ballot box to the bullet box.

But your MSM and government prefers the latter for its regime change operations. Note how the hundreds of thousands of protestors in France are treated like garbage by the NATO MSM, but the 10,000 thugs who took over the Maidan in Kiev were the "voice of the people" (the peaceful protestors left after a couple of months of action and were never harassed like they are being in France). Macron deploys the army and special forces to suppress the protestors, who are unarmed unlike the militants in Ukraine, and nobody squeaks about abuse of power. Meanwhile Yanukovich was terrorized by NATO into not deploying the army to deal with 10,000 armed militants who were killing dozens of police officers. He was spineless and weak and should have sent in the army at the first hint of arrival of armed militants.

The west is a ludicrous joke. Wallowing in some fake moral authority and delusion of superiority. Yet we see the same state thuggery as in the 3rd world.

[onlooker]

Wow, tumultuous times in France
Strasbourg shooting: at least one killed at Christmas market

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ern-france