A French activist stormed a debate attended by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, accusing him of bloodshed in the "yellow vest" protests during his 2018 rule.
Philippe was a guest on Sunday during the "Humanity Day" festival to debate the Secretary-General of the Communist Party, Fabien Russell, on some issues related to public affairs under the supervision of the left-leaning newspaper "Le Maniti" north of Paris.
Before the debate began, an activist named Richie Tipaut stormed the stage and snatched the microphone from Philip's hand, saying, "He has shed blood and has no place here. He is a blind killer" before being forcibly stopped by security agents.
Tipaut appeared in another video, stressing that he could not remain silent, and as a yellow vest activist, he saw the blood of his comrades at the demonstrations "and old people dragging them".
« Ayant vécu la répression sanglante des Gilets jaunes, je ne pouvais pas rester là sans rien dire »@ritchy_thibault s'explique sur son intervention face à Édouard Philippe à la #FeteHuma2023 #Fetedelhumanite pic.twitter.com/Q2ipCKd6pj
— QG le média libre (@LibreQg) September 17, 2023
The activist's position was supported by many social media users, with Emeric Caron, a member of parliament representing the Proud France Movement, denouncing Thibaut's expulsion from the podium and preventing him from criticizing Philippe, despite the fact that the demonstration was originally left-wing.
Curieux qu'à la Fête de l'Humanité un militant pro-gilets jaunes qui surgit sur scène pour critiquer Édouard Philippe soit viré comme un malpropre... On n'est plus des révolutionnaires? On préfère défendre les représentants de l'ordre établi qui s'en prennent aux manifestants et... https://t.co/ROF3VpuxOd
— Aymeric Caron (@CaronAymericoff) September 17, 2023
Green Party leader and MP Sandrina Russo wrote on her X account: "Remind him of the yellow vest scandal, I take my hat off to Richie Tipault."
Lui rappeler le scandale des éborgnements des #GiletsJaunes, chapeau bas @ritchy_thibault. https://t.co/hIB7yEVBwE
— Sandrine Rousseau (@sandrousseau) September 17, 2023
Philippe belongs to the "Republicans" party and was chosen by President Emmanuel Macron on May 15, 2017 to form the fortieth government of the Fifth Republic, before submitting his resignation on July 3, 2020, when a new government was formed under the chairmanship of Jean Castex.
The "yellow vest" demonstrations began on 17 November 2018 to protest fuel price increases and poor economic conditions, but protests against Macron's economic policies quickly expanded, and weekend protests in Paris led to vandalism and violent clashes with security forces.
In May 2019, local newspapers revealed that 12 people had been killed during five months of "yellow vest" demonstrations, including one who was injured by tear gas capsules used by police against protesters.