French Protesters Say "Leave EU" And Demand Less Immigration
French Protesters Say "Leave EU" And Call For Less Immigration among many other demands in a list being shared by many journalists. Most say there is no official demand so its important to note that this may come from a random individual.But it is also important note that this may be the most prominent demand list and one of the best clues as to why so many people in France are upset and demanding the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.Whether the list is an accurate depiction of protester desire is unclear, but what is clear is that the people of France are fed up with Emmanuel Macron and want his resignation.
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What they're calling Act 4 of the Yellow Jackets protest in France and other parts of Europe is currently happening right now as I film this video, so by the time you watch this, some of the details may have changed.
But I want to talk about the latest news, the riots that are sweeping through Paris and even spreading to Brussels.
And I also want to address the issue of why.
Because a few journalists are circulating this image that says the Yellow Jacket protesters want to leave the European Union.
They want what's called a Frexit, or a France exit to the European Union, among many other things.
However, there is some contradictory reporting from other journalists saying that there's no real goal Among the Yellow Jacket protesters, they kind of want different things.
And I think it's fair to say, for one, I'm not down there.
But it sounds like there are many different causes that are bringing people out onto the streets of Paris.
But one of the main issues is calling for Emmanuel Macron, the president of France's resignation, as his approval rating drops to record lows at 18%.
So today, let's take a look at exactly what's going on in Paris and ask the question, Why are they protesting?
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First from the Financial Times, French police turn out in force to quell protests.
Authorities make mass arrests to prevent fourth week of unrest escalating into riots.
They say nearly 1,000 arrests were made across the country, with the majority in Paris during the fourth straight weekend of protests by the Yellow Vests, a movement which began in response to fuel tax increases, but has quickly swollen into a campaign against Mr. Macron.
More than 31,000 people came out to block roads throughout France, according to government figures, with more than 8,000 in Paris.
On the first weekend of protest, more than 280,000 people had been on the streets.
80,000 people had been on the streets. I want to stress that Act 1 had 280,000 people and now it's almost 90%
down with only 31,000 people. Still, it's a large group.
There's a lot of rioting, there are fires, there's destruction, but it is a lot smaller and the reason
for that could just be fatigue.
You know, most people don't expect to go out and protest for over a month, and only the most diehard supporters are going out to actually continue the fight against their government.
Emmanuel Macron's approval rating is down to 18% according to YouGov data.
This Twitter account, Europe Elects, tracks poll aggregation and election analysis and says President Macron approval rating is at 18%.
Now there have certainly been a ton of people claiming This is far right, it's anti-EU, it's pro-EU.
Ryan Broderick of BuzzFeed tweeted, And I think that might be the only real way to describe the protests, because it's a large group of people and they don't really have a set list of demands.
They're working-class people who want Macron out.
And I think that might be the only real way to describe the protests,
because it's a large group of people and they don't really have a set list of demands.
However, some journalists have been circulating an image that's been put out claiming
that the Lovests are making some very specific demands, some of which include leaving the European Union.
The first post I saw was from a Paris correspondent for Euronews and NBC saying, the quote, official list of Yellow Vest demands was published on social media.
It includes canceling the debt, Frexit, that means France leaving the European Union, leaving NATO, banning plastic bottles and raising the minimum wage.
Protesters say these will have an immediate impact in the people's lives.
No kidding.
Hashtag France.
Now, I'm willing to give some trust to an NBC correspondent.
However, I also saw the same thing reported by a man who claims to work for The Economist.
It's a verified Twitter account stating, a new unofficial list of yellow vest demands.
Cut taxes to 25% of GDP.
That would be half of the current levels.
Better public services.
Massive hiring of civil servants.
Leave the European Union and NATO.
Default on public debt.
New constitution.
And less immigration.
The important thing to point out about that list of demands is that both journalists put it in quote as official or unofficial because there's no real official guiding force behind this protest.
I think it's fair to say that in France there's one real, real issue here.
And Ryan Brodick of Buzzfeed probably hit the nail on the head with the hammer.
Get Macron out.
That's it.
Macron has failed.
His approval rating is trash.
It continues to slide.
No one is happy with him.
Left, right.
We have seen reports that the far left is out in the street.
We have seen reports that the far right is out in the street.
But most of the people protesting are working class people, and everyone seems to be united under the idea that Emmanuel Macron has failed France.
There's now rumors among many people, even the left, saying They're paving a path towards Lemarine Le Pen's victory in 2022 during the next election.
Now, that's a bit of speculation that I can't really get into, but certainly many people believe that with the failures of Macron, many people will either become disenfranchised and just not vote, or many people will actually start moving towards right-wing populism.
And at least according to some data I reported on a few days ago, it looks like there is an uptick only a few points in favor of right-wing populism.
But as much as I can say in France, it seems to be about Emmanuel Macron's resignation.
We have this report from the Associated Press.
Yellow vest protesters clash in Brussels.
This is a live blog, and they say, as of 1.55 p.m.
Belgian police are firing tear gas and water cannons at stone-throwing yellow-vested protesters near the country's government offices and parliament.
Protesters smashed street signs and traffic lights near a police barricade, blocking access to the office of Prime Minister Charles Mitchell, as they chanted slogans calling on him to resign.
They threw paving stones, fireworks, flares, and other objects at police.
Brussels police spokesman Ilvan Diker, says around 400 protesters are gathered in the area. About
100 have been detained, many for possessing dangerous objects like fireworks or
wearing clothing that could be used as protection in clashes with police. In the
Netherlands, about 100 protesters gathered in a peaceful demonstration outside the Dutch parliament in
The Hague. At least two protesters were detained by police in central Amsterdam. Now again,
there are many people making the claim that these are anti-European union protesters, or at least
there is some sentiment among the yellow vest that the EU is bad. We're hearing for the most
part that that's not a completely ubiquitous opinion.
Not every single protester holds it.
It's just that some might.
But then we have this story from the India Times.
This has also been circulating widely on Twitter.
70 arrested in Brussels during Yellow Vest protests because they tried rushing the European Parliament building, they say.
Around 70 people were arrested Saturday in the Belgian capital of Brussels during copycat yellow vest demonstrations rocking neighboring France, police said.
The area housing European institutions, including the offices of the European Commission and the European Parliament, were sealed off as a precautionary measure.
Police put up barricades there and both vehicles and pedestrians were denied access.
This story is going around on Twitter as well, that the protesters in Brussels tried rushing European Parliament.
But keep in mind, a lot of the information I'm giving you, it's coming from breaking news sources, so it is subject to change and update.
Make sure you fact check me, and read up as much as possible.
I want to address some of the core issues from the rumors going around over protest demands.
But there is one more issue that needs to be brought up, and it seems to be the opportunists who have infiltrated, or at least taking advantage of the Yellow Vests protest.
There are many videos going around showing people, including some people in yellow vests, looting and robbing stores, taking advantage of the chaos to smash windows, go in and take whatever they want.
There are many people who are calling this out.
There are many protesters who are saying these are provocateurs.
These are people who are simply trying to make them look bad and cause problems for the protesters.
It is absolutely imperative to point out that at almost every protest event,
something like this happens.
And typically, we see people, depending on their political leaning, support or oppose the rioting.
I have seen looting happen at many different riots and protest situations, and it is unfortunate because there are people who have something in mind that they want to protest.
But there are individuals who know that in the crowd they have an opportunity to exploit the situation to steal.
It happened in Ferguson, for instance.
Many of the people who were looting these stores didn't care about the protest, it was just an opportunity.
You will probably end up seeing people use these photos and videos to discredit the Yellow Vest protesters, and I do think that is certainly unfair.
I said the same thing about Ferguson, yet people trying to defend the riots in Ferguson, for some reason, were trying to defend the looters there as well.
In my opinion, looters should not be defended.
There's absolutely no reason to shatter the window of a store and steal their products to get your message across.
It sounds like these are just people who are either trying to make the protest look bad or, in all likelihood, just want to take free stuff.
Now, earlier, I cited Ryan Broderick, who said that the protesters, for the most part, just want Macron out, and they have various political opinions and ideologies.
But I also want to point out kind of the weirdest take I have ever seen on the Yellow Vests protest.
The point of this video is just to try and address the issues as to why people are protesting.
I think it's fair to say, as Ryan Broderick said, they want Macron to resign.
But BuzzFeed, Ryan Broderick himself, actually wrote this story claiming that it's actually Facebook that caused the protests to happen, and I don't think that's actually accurate.
His story says, the Yellow Jackets riots in France are what happens when Facebook gets involved with local news.
The Yellow Jackets movement is what happens when you point Facebook's traffic hose at France's small towns.
The question now is, how do you turn it off?
His story essentially concludes that because Facebook started to prioritize local stories and reporting, they started to see these anger groups bubbling up and getting more traction and being shared more and more because Facebook prioritized them.
This allowed people to see the angry message and then form protests and we'll go out and protest.
And it spread across France.
What's really fascinating about this is I think the conclusion is a bit silly.
Why are people protesting?
Well, they're actually angry and they wouldn't be angry unless there was something to be angry about.
If the issue is that Facebook allows people to better share information, I wouldn't say it's Facebook's fault.
I think it's actually really simple.
In the early days of Macron's campaign, he cut taxes for the wealthy and then recently decided to increase taxes on the working class.
I think that's there's just a recipe for disaster when you do that.
As much as Trump has implemented corporate tax cuts, he did try and play up cutting taxes for the middle class because I think it's obvious to anybody.
If you cut taxes on the rich and raise taxes on the middle class and the poor, you're going to end up with protests or even riots.
So I don't think it's fair to say Facebook caused this.
I think, in my assessment, again, as someone who's not there, I feel like based on what I've read and what I've talked to from local French reporters and other journalists who are there, it sounds like this was a recipe for disaster.
Macron increased taxes on fuel, which predominantly affect rural individuals in France.
They're now seeing their cost of living go up, and at the same time they know Macron is an investment banker, and he cut taxes on the wealthy, and it seems like there's a huge slap in the face to poor and working class French people.
And now, Macron's approval rating is in the gutter. 18%.
So again, this is all breaking information.
It's part of my assessment.
I could be wrong.
I'm not on the ground.
I just wanted to kind of break down some of the stories that are coming around and talk about some of the tweets that I've seen, whether or not they are true.
Look, there's going to be a lot of people who are on the ground in France who agree and disagree, but I think it's fair to say Macron's resignation is the core issue at this point.
Comment below, let me know what you think, we'll keep the conversation going.
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