France's Yellow Jackets/Gilets Jaunes protests return after the holidays.

French police near a burning barricade. Reuters.

France's Yellow Jackets/Gilets Jaunes protests have returned after lower turnout due to the holidays. Reuters. Driven by anger over "green" taxes on fuel and the perceived indifference of President Emmanuel Macron, French protesters took to the streets for the 8th weekend in a row. The protests were mostly peaceful, but some lit fires and threw objects at the police. Macron has branded the protesters as rioters who want to overthrow the government. Macron now has one of the worst approval ratings of any politicians in Europe. 

My Comment:

I haven't been covering the Gilets Jaunes protesters as much as I had been. Part of that was due to the winter holidays as it really did seem to depress turnout for the protests. Obviously, people were more focused on family and friends over they holidays. Now that the holidays are over, people can come out and protest more. 

The weather is probably a factor as well. Though it hasn't been that cold out in France, people are less likely to go and protest when it is cool outside. Emmanuel Macron is lucky that these protests broke out in late fall and winter and not spring or summer. As it is right now, the weather is depressing turnout. 

That being said, 8 weeks of protests is pretty significant. The fact that these protests continued through winter and the holidays is significant. It shows that the Gilets Jaunes are not in any hurry to give up. It also shows that the token offerings that Macron has given was not enough to quell the unrest. Indeed, it seems to have very little effect at all or perhaps even a negative effect. 

Of course Macron has answered these protesters in an incredibly tone deaf way. Macron was accused of supporting the rich at the expense of everyone else and how does he react? Like an elitist. It's like he is totally disconnected from the people he rules and it is a major reason why these protests have continued. 

I do wonder how much longer these protests can continue the way they are. It's clear that basically everyone wants Macron to go but he seems very uninterested in doing so. He also hasn't shown the humility to give the people strong enough concessions that they might go home. Sooner or later that is going to have to change. If it doesn't I could see these protests escalate into widespread violence or economic collapse. 

I am honestly surprised that the Gilets Jaunes movement hasn't spread as much as I had hoped. There were some other protests in Europe and even one in Canada, but it's clear that this is clearly a French phenomenon. Of course the taxes in France are among the highest in the world so other countries populations may have less to protest about. 

Time will tell how this all turns out. I still think that Macron's days are numbered and that there will likely be a new government before the end of the year. He just seems so tone deaf to the needs of his people that he won't figure out how precarious his position is. People will tolerate a lot from their governments but they won't tolerate open derision. I think we will see a new government in France soon...