What do the Gilets Jaunes mean for Macronian France?
Thousands injured, several dead, smoke obfuscating city streets, luxury cars burned, boutique windows smashed, teargas from one side and rocks from another, at the centre of these clashes – yellow vests and police without rest. It has been nearly three months since the gilets jaunes (“yellow vests”) protests began in France, sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to increase fuel taxes by 7.6 euro cents (approximately 11 Canadian cents). Demonstrators claim the fiscal policy unfairly targets working-class citizens, particularly those in rural communities that lack the effective public transport of wealthier cities like Paris. The movement has expanded to a wider resistance of neoliberal capitalism, and what many believe to be a government that favours the upper-class.
Domestic response to the gilets jaunes has been nuanced. Since the movement has no direct leader or organized structure, its followers range from far-left anarchists and communists to ordinary citizens who simply want Macron’s new tax repealed. The rampant violence surrounding the protests is particularly contentious. In contrast with those who view the latest string of violent protests as a necessity, prominent gilet jaunes activist, Jacline Mouraud, has decried physical action as “absurd” and not “a solution.” Concurrently, a video published by Le Monde in November demonstrates the movement’s ardent support by the French public. In it, Macron condescendingly addresses protestors saying they must transform “their anger into a solution,” furthering citizens’ hostility toward the President’s administration. The video featured many disgruntled commenters, like Kelly Crystal, who wrote: “C'est le 1er à dire l'écologie est dans un état alarmant’, et c'est le 1er à prendre l'avion pour parcourir 110 km, alors qu'il y a le train” – calling attention to an apparent hypocrisy that Macron’s policies have been in the name of supporting the environment, despite his frequent use of private jets to travel short distances. The comment received 696 upvotes and demonstrates the intersectional nature of the recent unrest. To the dismay of many, Macron’s continued response to the gilets jaunes has been to rule with an iron fist, strengthening laws that punish undeclared demonstrations and sending out ruthless police squadrons en masse. In December 2018, Macron’s favourability rating was a mere 27%, levels of support even surpassed by US President Donald Trump.
Since then, Macron has taken a softer tone, embarking on what he calls “Le Grand Débat,” a series of townhall meetings where he hears people’s concerns and tries addressing them. In one of these recent trips he admitted to the government’s failures, conceding that it has failed to “guarantee social justice” in a variety of fields. Additionally, the initial tax hike that prompted the protests has been repealed; however, Macron’s catastrophic decisions hitherto have left his ratings in a poor state and the movement continues to rage on.
These issues the government is facing have also been paired with diplomatic disputes tied to the gilet jaunes. On the 5th of February, Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right Five Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, met with prominent figures of the gilet jaunes. Di Maio subsequently tweeted a photo of him posing in solidarity with the activists. France’s foreign ministry has since accused Di Maio of “undermining relations between the two countries,” leading to a political disaster that French news outlet The Local has cited as “the biggest crisis between France and Italy since the end of World War II.”
As of now, the end of the gilet jaunes movement is nowhere in sight. How Macron’s administration plans on tackling the unrest and the new political fallout with Italy is enigmatic, if not impossible. What we do know is that the dissatisfaction of the French citizenry runs deep and will require immense reforms before Paris sees the light of peace.