In France, the sixth Saturday of mass protests of "yellow vests" took place. By evening, the French media, citing the police, reported 24,000 participants in the rallies. About 2,000 people spoke in Paris, 79 of whom were detained.
On the frames of the video agency Ruptly, which conducted the live broadcast, it was noticeable that the protesters at this time is really less than before. The number of protesters was not enough for the open confrontation with the police, which was known for the previous actions.
The footage showed how the demonstrators turned over and smashed one police car, and, retreating from the ranks of the law enforcement officers, tried to form a barrier from the means at hand. Roadblocks and even scooters went into action, but the police easily moved forward and pushed the protesters back using tear gas.
This time the protesters applied a ploy and changed the format of the action to a march. The starting location was first announced Versailles, located near Paris. However, on Saturday morning, through social networks, they spread information about the real gathering point, which Montmartre became. There began a new procession of "yellow vests", which gathered about 600 people at the time of launch.
According to the television channel BFM, on Saturday morning the center of Paris was open to traffic, cafes, restaurants and shops worked as usual. The only exceptions were a few expensive boutiques, which on Saturday preferred to close their doors.
According to the radio station France Bleu, a noticeable activity of the "yellow vests" on this Saturday was noted outside Paris. In the city of Montpellier, 450 protesters are reported, 150 supporters of "yellow vests" have gathered in Nice. In the department of Pas-de-Calais, about 200 people blocked the busy highway; in Strasbourg, about 100 people blocked motorists from leaving for Germany, but did not interfere with entering France.
According to AFP, in Le Boulou, not far from the border with Spain, the protesters blocked the overpass and did not allow heavy trucks transporting goods to France. The demonstrators explained their actions by the fact that these trucks are “a symbol of Spanish exports to France at bargain prices.”
Around noon local time, the police detained one of the organizers of the protests of the "yellow vests" - Eric Druet. According to France Info, he is suspected of organizing an illegal demonstration on a public road, carrying weapons and participating in a group created with intent to cause violence. Drouet is placed in custody.
In addition, the sixth Saturday of "yellow vests" was marked by death, indirectly related to protest activity. In the area of the city of Perpignan, a car crashed into the back of a stopped truck, the driver of which discussed with the demonstrators the possibility of driving through their barricades. As a result, the driver of the passenger car died on the spot. According to the BFM channel, the truck driver remained in place until the police arrived, and the witnesses of the accident from among the “yellow vests” hurried to escape.
- Protests in Nantes
- Reuters
Police strike
Four thousand policemen followed the order throughout the country, of which 1.2 thousand worked in Paris.
It should be noted that at the beginning of the week the police themselves organized a protest action, the reason for which was an excessive workload and an abundance of overtime. On Monday, December 17, French law enforcement agencies staged a one-day strike, during which they responded only to emergency calls.
According to France 24, the French authorities managed to negotiate with the police. Guardians of the order will receive an increase in salaries in the range from € 120 to € 150, depending on the length of service. However, the one-time bonus of € 300 promised at an early stage of negotiations will be given only to administrative and technical staff.
The French government and the police have also begun to discuss large debts for overtime work of law enforcement agencies for many years - on this point the state did not pay about € 275 million.
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After the holidays, the current protests in France may well subside, but residents of this country will have many other reasons to go on the streets en masse, said Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the Russian President. In his opinion, this is facilitated by crisis phenomena in the European economy.
“France was largely a state that was social in character. There was quite advanced labor legislation in the sense that the rights of the employee were very strictly respected there. Even, maybe, the rights of the worker were excessively respected. Now the state is beginning to dismantle all these elements. Just because you need to save. The state has no such amount of money, ”Bezpalko told in an interview with RT.
According to the expert, the processes of folding the welfare state will continue, and the protesters only achieved concessions in small numerical terms.
“In the future, they will raise prices for something else, raise tariffs somewhere else. And all these achievements, they are still very quickly leveled. There, the system needs to be changed economically, ”concluded Bezpalko.
"A shaky electoral base"
Recall that in November 2018, the "yellow vests" first appeared on mass protests. The reason for dissatisfaction at first was the imminent increase in fuel prices, which the French authorities decided to refuse. Later, protesters began to oppose the high cost of living in France as a whole. They also called for the introduction of civil initiative referendums in the country, where residents will be able to discuss issues of national importance.
The largest protest on November 17 gathered more than 282 thousand people on the streets of French cities. On November 24, 166 thousand people came out to protest; on November 1 and 8, the number of demonstrators fell to 136 thousand. By December 15, only 66 thousand "yellow vests" participated in the actions.
After the first rally in December, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation and declared a state of emergency in the country. The French leader promised to introduce a series of urgent social and economic measures aimed at reducing tensions.
“The minimum wage will rise by € 100 a month from May 2019. In addition, starting from 2019, overtime hours will not be taxed and socially paid. At the end of the year, a special bonus will be established for employees, not subject to any taxes or social payments. For those who earn less than € 2,000 per month, tax deductions are introduced, ”Macron promised. The implementation of these measures will cost the state € 8-10 billion.
“Yellow vests” called the steps promised by Macron “a drop in the ocean” and promised to continue the performances.
However, the next protest action gathered half as many people around the country.
On the eve of the current protest in France, a survey was conducted by Elabe for the BFM TV channel, dedicated to supporting the ideas of "yellow jackets" by the public. After a month after the start of the speeches, 70% of the respondents approve the movement, another 22% are “hostile”, and 8% are indifferent to the protesters.
Against the "yellow vests" stands the very concept of the movement - it does not have a structure and a think tank that is able to direct and direct these actions. This was announced by RT Associate Professor of the European Law Department of MGIMO and Director of the Center for European Information Nikolai Topornin.
“So far, the movement has had such an anarchic character through contacts in a social network, some social groups. All this was divided, there was no single center. Now they seem to be beginning to take shape somehow, they have some leaders who are ready to talk on behalf of the movement, ”said the expert.
For the time being, the performances of the "yellow vests" boil down to scattered demands from different spheres of life of French society. How exactly the mood has changed in France is able to show the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, said Topornin.
According to him, Makron spent the first two years in office unsuccessfully: he failed to strengthen his electoral rating and his electoral base and did not attract to his side any voters of other political forces. Instead of domestic policy, he was engaged in solving European problems, the expert is sure.
“This suggests that such a broad coalition can now be formed against him, since he will remain with his 20% and in general this is such a shaky electoral foundation,” concluded Topornyn.
Helmet, goggles and respirator
RT journalists covered the “yellow vests” protest throughout the month of movement activity. During this time, more than 13 journalists of the channel received various injuries.
In early December, a correspondent of RT France, Luc Leger, was wounded by an explosion of a tear gas grenade - a fragment hit his jaw. Later, one of the operators RT France suffered a head injury. Later, reporters from two film crews suffered from tear gas.
In addition, rubber bullets hit two correspondents, and the stringer of the video agency RT Ruptly suffered from a stone that fell into it. Another journalist was hit in the face.
RT correspondents shared details about the work at the rallies and told about the features of the equipment they use. At a minimum, a helmet, goggles and a respirator are required. Additional protection is provided by a 2.5 kg vest, which reduces the likelihood of severe injuries when hit by improvised “projectiles” used by protesters.