"A serious challenge to the government": how was the tenth rally of the French protest movement "yellow vests"

In France, for the tenth time, mass protests of "yellow vests" took place. According to police, 84,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country. At the same time, about 80 thousand law enforcement officers were mobilized to protect law and order, 7 thousand of them in Paris.

The starting point for activists in the French capital was an architectural monument House of Disabled, located in the 7th arrondissement. The gathering near this cultural object was announced in the group “France in a rage” on Facebook. Headed the procession one of the leaders of the "yellow vests" Eric Drouet. According to him, the demonstrations will not stop until the demands of French citizens are heard.

"For our part, we are continuing to move in the same direction, since our real demands that we have made from the very beginning are not going to listen to anyone," Drouet said in a conversation with a correspondent of RT France.

Note that this time the march in Paris was much calmer than usual. The movement of the procession, which passed more than 15 km, was not accompanied by mass collisions. In this case, a total of 42 people were detained (according to media reports, the majority - for carrying prohibited weapons).

At the beginning of the march, activists raised black cardboard gravestones with the names of people who died during protest demonstrations.

Another theme of the posters was the use of violence by police officers. In particular, the protesters reworked the famous motto "Freedom, equality, fraternity" of the Great French Revolution of 1789-1799, replacing the word "fraternity" with "flashball." We are talking about the non-lethal type of weapons of the French police, which shoots rubber balls.

In addition, activists once again expressed support for the RT channel. One of the protesters came out with an appeal to the French media: "Mediapart, BFM, LCI, TF1 - informational parsley, learn to count or watch RT."

Recall that during the protests of December 29, 2018, "yellow vests" chanted "Thank you, RT." Later, French media journalists began to complain that the protesters did not make contact with them, preferring to communicate exclusively with RT France.

At the same time, in other French cities, clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators could not be avoided. Police officers threw stones, debris and other improvised means, and those, in turn, resorted to the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.

This led to the injury of two law enforcement officers in Rennes and the detention of 12 people in Rouen.

In La Tour du Pente, a protest that was originally started by motorists (according to French law, the driver should have a yellow vest with him), led by a demonstrator on horseback.

À La-Tour-Du-Pin, un cheval en tête du cortège de la manifestation déclarée # GiletsJaunes # ActeXpic.twitter.com / BmjHgUFTRE

Recall that already more than two months ago - November 17, 2018 - "yellow vests" for the first time took to the mass protests. The reason for discontent was the planned increase in fuel prices. Later, the French authorities abandoned the initiative, introducing a moratorium. However, the protests did not stop - activists complain about the social reforms being carried out by Emmanuel Macron and the deteriorating economic situation in France.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of this week a national debate started. The French leader urged citizens to actively participate in them to resolve existing problems.

“For me, there are no forbidden questions. We will not agree on everything, but this is normal, such is democracy. At least, we will show that we are a people who are not afraid of speaking, discussing and exchanging opinions, ”said Macron in an open letter to the nation.

As one of the prominent representatives of the “yellow vests” Maxim Nicol, nicknamed Fly Rider, noted in an interview with RT, no constructive results should be expected from the debates - they will not be able to resolve the current crisis.

“Civil communities are currently organized and create a system that is completely parallel to the politicians,” he stressed.

He also criticized Home Secretary Christophe Castaner. According to him, the head of the law enforcement agency "gives orders at random" and does not control anything.

“Claiming that there were no acts of violence by the police, Christoph Castaner is lying,” the activist added.

"The phenomenon of" yellow vests "

As the associate professor of the European Law Department of MGIMO, director of the Center for European Information Nikolai Topornin, noted, in two months the protest movement of “yellow vests” began to acquire political outlines, it had its own leaders, but so far there is no clearly defined hierarchy.

“The question is whether the“ yellow vests ”will be able to organize themselves into some kind of serious political force, try to consolidate their ranks. They have a chance now. It is necessary to move from street democracy to political democracy. Calls and manifestations to solve the main problems will not work, they need to be addressed at the legislative level. But they will continue to perform, they feel their strength and do not want to be content with little. However, it is necessary to integrate into the French political system, ”the expert emphasized.

At the same time, in his opinion, the current French president will not be able to restore his position.

“Frankly speaking, you can already put a kind of cross on Macron. The French have become disillusioned with their leader and will not turn to him because he has lost their trust. From this point of view, the prospects are not bright, ”said Topornin.

The protest actions that have been going on in France for two months have undergone a substantive evolution, stated Alexei Chikhachev, an expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs.

“On the one hand, the protesters began to put forward demands not only of a socio-economic nature, but also of a political plan - to criticize the current leadership, to demand the resignation of the president. This is a serious challenge to the current government, ”he said.

According to him, the broad socio-economic concessions and debates announced by Macron have not yet calmed the French population.

“On the contrary, recent actions have caused great criticism. Macron is accused of having outlined the main answers in advance and is trying to lead people to choose these options that are beneficial for the current government. Many analysts have said that sooner or later the movement will come to naught, but so far it does not disappear, and we can say that this is indeed a phenomenon, ”said Chikhachev in an interview with RT.