Politics Discussion Thread (Heated Arguing Warning)

[Commodore]

It's made for striking pictures.
   
This should be the header image for the decade.

[darrelljs]

The most amazing thing about that picture is that they let Burger King into France.

Darrell

[Fenn]

What's up, France? The usual riots, or something special?

More that the series of neoliberal policies enacted by Emmanuel Macron have hit a tipping point. The "gillets jaunes" were sparked by an increase in the petrol/diesel tax for citizens (but not for airlines, private jets etc), on top of rising gas prices in general, but they quickly ballooned into a broader expression of discontent with Macron's governance. Since being elected in a runoff over the fascist candidate Marine Le Pen, he has abolished the wealth tax, which was paid only by the most wealthy, increased pension taxes for everyone, closed down local railways, cut salaries for civil servants, slashed funding for municipal and regional governments, and taken sundry other actions to drive down wages and weaken unions.

To date the gillets jaune movement (named after the yellow vests all French motorists must keep in their vehicle in case of emergencies) has been mostly unstructured and consciously unattached to any political parties, but the most popular demands include increases to the minimum wage, reductions to sales taxes, reinstatement of the wealth tax, the convocation of a "people's assembly", and for Macron to resign. The protests enjoy overwhelming popularity - over 70% in general, and even higher among manual workers and the left - while Macron's approval ratings sink ever lower. That leaves him with few options. Despite harsh tactics by police such as the use of tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators on the Champs-Elysées, and the sporadic killing of protesters elsewhere, the movement shows no sign of slowing down, and a recent announcement that the fuel tax increase would be delayed six months seems to have made no difference; further demonstrations are planned in the coming days, perhaps even a general strike on December 10.

Hard to say where things could go from here. Things might possibly die down, but this is about much more than the fuel tax to directly oppose everything Macron stands for that it could well grow more intense. Interestingly, the far right including is expressing some support for the protests as well; I don't expect that this will last long, however. Far-right individuals have been repeatedly thrown out of demonstrations, and the demands for a higher minimum wage in particular does not sit well with the small businesspeople that form a big chunk of the far right's base.

Lots more to say about these events, but that's a quick and dirty summary.

[Grotsnot]

and the sporadic killing of protesters elsewhere

Wait what? That was dropped in awfully casually, is that a usual thing for French protests..?

the convocation of a "people's assembly"

Well at least that doesn't have any violent precedent

[ipecac]

The "gillets jaunes" were sparked by an increase in the petrol/diesel tax for citizens

The solution is more education on carbon taxes and global warming.

[Japper007]

The "gillets jaunes" were sparked by an increase in the petrol/diesel tax for citizens

The solution is more education on carbon taxes and global warming.

The main problem being protested isn't that the taxes on petrol got raised (high petrol taxes are pretty common throughout the EU), but that the taxes put more of a strain on the poorest than on the rich who actually do most of the driving (just like any other sales tax, it hits the people that spend the majority of their money on basic needs harder) and that nothing has been done to help the poor with this big increase on their spending. Once again it's neo-liberal austerity that's the problem, not environmentalism. One of the main criticisms leveled by yellow-jackets is for example that aviation fuel did not get taxed at all, even though airplanes are a big CO2 contributor, and a total luxury (again one mostly used by the rich). If Macron truly wanted to be Green, he could have used subsidies for electric cars or looked into expanding nuclear and other alternative power sources, or looked into stricter regulations on industry and factory farming (i.e. actual top contributors). Instead he chose to fuck over the poor, in typical neo-liberal fashion.

The so-called “yellow vest” movement, which started on Nov. 17 as a social-media protest group named for the high-visibility jackets all motorists in France carry in their cars, began with the aim of highlighting the squeeze on household spending brought about by Macron’s taxes on fuel.

However, over the past three weeks the movement has evolved into a wider, broadbrush anti-Macron uprising, with many criticising the president for pursuing policies they say favour the rich and do nothing to help the poor.

From Reuters: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france...KKBN1O30NR

[Fenn]

and the sporadic killing of protesters elsewhere

Wait what? That was dropped in awfully casually, is that a usual thing for French protests..?

No, thankfully, police there aren't as militarized as they are in America - and even now there's been only two or three confirmed deaths so far. There hasn't been a protest on such a large scale and with so many confrontations with police in a while in France.

Another reason people are angry about the fuel tax is that internal government documents released appear to indicate that the purpose of the diesel tax increase was to make up the shortfall from tax cuts to the wealthy - the environmentalism angle being used as mere cover.

[ipecac]

Yes, it was clear that many proposed measures associated with the Paris Accords used the environmentalism angle as cover.

[MJW (ya that one)]

The next big date for Brexit is December 10th. 80% is pretty good odds.

Crystal Ball should have Senate ratings next week. I think they will have what it takes to put AL at Leans R and say something like "this is one of the hardest things we've had to do at Crystal Ball" (Inside Elections can take the easy way out because they have the Tilt rating which is why I don't like it).

[Boro]

I'd love to see those documents, or their translations. (about the french fuel tax used as a cover for the losses from the wealth tax)