Anti-pass / anti-tax: like the yellow vests, "it is an extremely variegated and contradictory movement"

INTERVIEW

The demonstrations are not weakening.

"It even tends to increase from week to week," says Sylvain Boulouque.

But who are these demonstrators?

Historian and specialist in communism, anarchist movements and the extreme left, Sylvain Boulouque was the guest of Europe 1, Saturday, to share his analysis of the profile of these French people who beat the pavement for the fifth consecutive weekend against the health pass or against the vaccine.

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Different political colorations

"We went from a few tens of thousands of demonstrators to several hundred thousand demonstrators," recalls Sylvain Boulouque, adding that this reflects a fundamental movement which is not, according to opinion polls, a majority movement , but which is strengthening all the same, especially in public opinion.

In several respects, the historian finds in this movement similarities with that of the yellow vests.

"It is an extremely colorful movement, and extremely contradictory," he said.

"You have extremely different political colorings which participate in these movements", develops the one who is also the author of 

. "You have a part of the extreme left, and you have on the other side a part of the extreme right, and of the nationalist right", specifies the historian. "If you go to Nantes, you have more demonstrations which are anti-health pass demonstrations, rather animated by militants close to the radical left; on the other side, when you are in the south of France, especially in the South-East, and a little more in the South-West, you have reverse movements rather close to the extreme right ".And now, he says, we are demonstrating a lot more in the South.

In Paris, three demonstrations are planned: "one which is rather very right, organized by Florian Philippot and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, which are rather on the extreme right of the political spectrum", evokes Sylvain Boulouque.

"On the other side, you have the yellow vests demonstration, which is an anti-pass demonstration - not at all anti-tax - and which is therefore rather marked on the left; and then, a third demonstration which is called 'conspiracy' ', with people who imagine the vaccine will inoculate them with 5G and a whole bunch of other conspiracy theory phantasmagorias. "

Distinguish between antivax and anti-pass

While Sylvain Boulouque argues that the opposition movement is more an anti-vaccine movement than an anti-pass movement, he specifies the importance of clearly distinguishing between anti-pass protesters and antivax. "People on the left are mostly in favor of the vaccine, they would even, for some, be in favor of a compulsory vaccine," explains the historian, a specialist in the far left. "But what they are opposed to is the health pass with the constraint on freedoms." There is this dimension there which is part of a much longer dispute, and in the much longer term ", he continues, drawing a parallel with the demonstrations against the comprehensive security law, and specifying that these demands only concern 'a minority share of the demonstrators.

"Then you have a second part of the demonstrators who are more anti-vaccine, who are more on the right: 'in the name of individual freedom, I do what I want", "continues Sylvain Boulouque. These two dimensions are a bit those that we found in the ranks of yellow vests, according to him. "It should also be noted that before the movement of yellow vests, in January and February 2018, you already had this desire to display a freedom in the face of vaccines", recalls the historian, evoking the sling during the passage from five to 11 compulsory vaccines for children. "You really have these two dimensions that coexist, but unlike the yellow vests, the protesters do not demonstrate with each other."