Major riots and protests in France over high fuel costs.

Protesters gather at the Champs-Elysees. BBC/AFP.

Massive protests and riots over high fuel costs and taxes have rocked France with over 100,000 participating throughout the country. BBC. The Yellow Vest movement is protesting high taxes on fuel and general high prices for both diesel and gasoline. Though the protest was started on that issue it has grown to general discontent with high cost of living prices in France. The protests are different than other French protests as it has united right and left wing groups as well as some people that even voted for embattled French president Emmanuel Macron. In Paris the protest turned violent as 19 people were injured in a riot that broke out. Despite the violence the protests were more severe last weekend where two people were killed and 600 people were hurt. 

My Comment:

The civil unrest in France has largely been ignored by American media, including me. I was vaguely aware of there being some disorder there but I had no idea about the cause or scale of the protests and riots. It seems that something big may be on the verge of happening in France and, as usual, the US media is out to lunch. 

I think it is important to note that this isn't one of those paid events like we have in the United States. No group appears to be funding this and it seems to have been organically grown from the grassroots supporters. This means to me that this is an actual threat to the government of France and could even result in violence. Indeed, some of the protests have become violent an there is always a chance of that happening again. 

It seemed odd to me at first that high gas prices and taxes are enough to drive the French people to disorder. The entire world has had high gas prices and it hasn't resulted in too much chaos. I remember the bad days here in America where it was $4.00 a gallon just to fill up and nobody here rioted. The article mentioned that it was high cost of living in general that was driving this movement, so the high taxes could just be a spark that ignited the flame. 

Of course high gas prices increase the price of every product that is transported by truck, which is pretty much all of them, so the whole thing has a ripple effect on the entire economy. Even if the economy doesn't crash due to fewer sales and higher prices, it still makes living day to day much harder for normal people and can wipe out any raises or benefits increases. 

It is possible that the cause of the taxes is the reason people are upset. Raising gas taxes to fight global warming seems like an obvious cash grab for anyone on the lower half of the income scale. France isn't a huge contributor of greenhouse gases in the first place and any reduction in pollution from France would be offset by China and India anyways. It seems like virtue signaling on a massive scale and nobody wants to see their paycheck going to making rich environmentalists and politicians feeling better about their jet-set lifestyle. 

Of course these gas taxes were always meant to be punitive in nature. The whole point is to reduce consumption by raising prices. It's a hit to the standard of living of anyone who relies on cheaper gas. Since gas is such an ubiquitous commodity for both normal people and many of the blue-collar workers that work in transport, it's a deep cut for normal people to pay. 

It also seems like a fairly obvious transfer of wealth from the lower classes to the rich companies that are developing other fuel sources. You can make the environmentalist argument that doing so will help the world, but it is always funny how the people on the lowest rungs of society end up paying the cost. Is it any wonder why they are upset? 

 I think that this is one of the rare things that the far left and the far right can agree on. Emmanuel Macron is essentially a "radical centrist" in that he is pushing the status quo even further than most other center-left  politicians. The left wing thinks he is committing class warfare on the poor and blue collar workers while the far right think he is selling out France to globalism. Neither side wants anything to do with these high taxes.

Either way, it's hard to see what kind of constituency Macron is going for here. Other than radical environmentalists, who wants higher gas and commodities prices? I think if Macron wants another term he is going to have to change course and do so fast. Considering his approval rating is at 26%, he might be in trouble. In comparison, President Donald Trump's approval rating is, as of this writing, at 51%.