{"id":183193,"date":"2019-02-04T08:08:49","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T08:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=183193"},"modified":"2019-02-08T06:51:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T06:51:09","slug":"unrest-in-france-no-end-in-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=183193","title":{"rendered":"Unrest in France: No End in Sight"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/author\/Guy+Milli%C3%A8re\">Guy Milli\u00e8re<\/a> \u2013 Gatestone Institute Feb 2, 2019<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The third group is extremely large: it is the rest of the population. The upper class treat them as regrettable dead weight and expect nothing from them except silence and submission. Its members often have a hard time making ends meet. They pay taxes but can see that a growing portion is being used to subsidize the very people who drove them out of their suburban homes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">For the moment, Macron does not seem to want to recognize that these people even exist.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">When Macron lowered the taxes of the wealthiest but increased the taxes of these &#8220;peripherals&#8221; by means of a fuel tax, it was seen as the last straw &#8212; in addition to his arrogant condescension.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;Today, most of those who protest do not attack the police. But instead of acting to bring down the violence, the police are receiving orders pushing them to be very violent. I do not blame the police. I blame those who give them orders&#8221;. \u2014 Xavier Lemoine, the mayor of Montfermeil, a city in the Eastern suburbs of Paris where the 2005 riots were extremely destructive,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_182947\" style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/CJ-protestors-gasses-in-Bordeaux.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-182947\" class=\"wp-image-182947\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/CJ-protestors-gasses-in-Bordeaux-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Yellow Jacket protestors being tear gassed in Bordeaux, January 12th 2019.\" width=\"540\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/CJ-protestors-gasses-in-Bordeaux.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/CJ-protestors-gasses-in-Bordeaux-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-182947\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yellow Jacket protestors being tear gassed in Bordeaux, January 12th 2019. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Saturday, January 26<sup>th<\/sup> 2019. &#8220;Yellow vests&#8221; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2019\/01\/26\/01016-20190126ARTFIG00142-gilets-jaunes-ce-qu-il-faut-retenir-de-ce-onzieme-samedi-de-manifestations.php\">protests<\/a><\/strong><\/span> were being organized in the main cities of France. Mobilization was not weakening. Support from the population had decreased slightly but was still huge (60%-70%, according to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/fr.sputniknews.com\/france\/201901151039641358-gilets-jaunes-sondage-approbation-hausse\/\">polls<\/a><\/strong><\/span>). The main slogan has remained the same since November 17, 2018: &#8220;Macron must resign&#8221;. In December, another slogan was added: &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/le-ric-une-vieille-idee-toujours-abandonnee_2053696.html\">Citizens&#8217; initiative referendum<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The government and French President Emmanuel Macron have been doing everything they can to crush the movement. They have tried insults, defamation and have said the demonstrators were both &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2018\/11\/24\/01016-20181124ARTFIG00048-gilets-jaunes-castaner-accuse-le-pen-apres-les-violences-sur-les-champs-elysees.php\">seditious people<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8221; wishing to overthrow the institutions and fascist &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/politique\/2018\/11\/25\/01002-20181125ARTFIG00117-gilets-jaunes-a-paris-pour-gerald-darmanin-c-est-la-peste-brune-qui-a-manifeste.php\">brown shirts<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;. On December 31, Macron described them, as &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualites\/1\/societe\/macron-l-ordre-republicain-sera-assure-sans-complaisance_2055423.html\">hateful crowds<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;. The presence of some anti-Semites led a government spokesman (incorrectly) to describe the entire movement as &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2018\/12\/22\/01016-20181222ARTFIG00118-gilets-jaunes-une-fin-de-semaine-marquee-par-des-actions-choquantes-et-polemiques.php\">anti-Semitic<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, ordered the police to resort to a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/societe\/gilets-jaunes-je-n-ai-jamais-vu-autant-de-blesses-graves_2058008.html\">degree of violence<\/a><\/strong><\/span> not seen since the time of the Algerian war (1954-62). During the two last decades in France, other riots have taken place many times. In 2005, for instance, when the whole country was subjected to arson and riots for weeks, the number of wounded rioters remained low. But violence has consequences. In just the last few weeks, 1,700 protesters were wounded, some seriously. Nineteen lost an eye; four lost a hand. Although French police officers do not use lethal weapons, they do use rubber ball launchers and often <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liberation.fr\/checknews\/2019\/01\/12\/tirs-de-flashball-grenades-combien-y-a-t-il-eu-de-blesses-graves-parmi-les-gilets-jaunes_1702417\">fire<\/a><\/strong><\/span> at protesters&#8217; faces &#8212; a target prohibited by the current <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/societe\/fait-divers\/la-police-rappelle-les-regles-d-utilisation-du-lbd_2057620.html\">rules of engagement<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. The French are also the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liberation.fr\/checknews\/2018\/11\/21\/la-france-est-elle-le-seul-pays-autorisant-les-forces-de-l-ordre-a-utiliser-des-grenades-comme-l-a-d_1693340\">only<\/a><\/strong><\/span> police force in Europe to use Sting-Ball grenades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Macron has never treated protesters as people who have legitimate claims, so he has never paid attention to their claims. He only agreed to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/la-hausse-des-taxes-sur-les-carburants-annulee-pour-2019_2052051.html\">suspend<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the additional fuel tax, which was to have been begun in January, and to <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/hausse-du-smic-d-ou-viennent-les-100-euros-de-macron_2052782.html\">grant<\/a> a slight increase in the minimum wage &#8212; all of which he did only after weeks of protests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Journalists say that Macron thought the movement would <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2018\/12\/29\/01016-20181229ARTFIG00037-les-gilets-jaunes-mobilisent-peu-pour-l-acte-vii.php\">fade away<\/a><\/strong><\/span> after the end-of-year break; that police violence and desperation would induce the demonstrators to resign themselves to their fates, and that the support of the general population would collapse. Nothing of the sort took place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It is clear that Macron does not want to meet the main demands of the protesters; that he will not resign, and that he refuses to accept a citizens&#8217; initiative referendum. He has apparently decided that if he dissolved the national assembly and called for legislative elections to end the crisis &#8212; as President Charles de Gaulle <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/1er-juillet-1968-de-gaulle-la-lutte-finale_1996724.html\">did<\/a><\/strong><\/span> it to put an end to an uprising in May 1968, as allowed by the French Constitution &#8212; he would <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/macron-peut-il-sortir-du-piege-gilets-jaunes_2051796.html\">suffer<\/a><\/strong><\/span> a scathing defeat. He can see that an overwhelming majority of the French people <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/flash-actu\/2018\/12\/18\/97001-20181218FILWWW00005-sondage-macron-et-philippe-perdent-cinq-points.php\">reject<\/a><\/strong><\/span> him, so apparently he has determined to seek a way out:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Macron called for a &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/le-gouvernement-fixe-les-contours-du-grand-debat_2053988.html\">great national debate<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8221; to address the problems facing the country. It soon became clear, however, that the &#8220;great debate&#8221; would be unconventional, to say the least.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Macron wrote a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/emmanuel-macron-sa-lettre-aux-francais_2057149.html\">letter<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to all French citizens inviting them to &#8220;participate&#8221;, but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/politique\/exclusif-la-lettre-ouverte-d-emmanuel-macron-aux-francais-13-01-2019-2285444_20.php\">saying<\/a><\/strong><\/span> explicitly that the &#8220;debate&#8221; would not change anything, that the government would continue in exactly the same direction (&#8220;I have not forgotten that I was elected on a project, on major orientations to which I remain faithful.&#8221;), and that everything that was done by the government since June 2017 would remain unchanged (&#8220;We will not go back on the measures we have taken&#8221;).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">He then entrusted organizing the &#8220;debate&#8221; and drafting its conclusions to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/flash-actu\/2019\/01\/14\/97001-20190114FILWWW00073-les-ministres-wargon-et-lecornu-charge-de-l-animation-du-grand-debat.php\">two members<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>of the government, and requested that &#8220;registers of grievances&#8221; be made available to the public in all town halls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Macron then <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/macron-lance-le-grand-debat-devant-600-maires-normands_2057350.html\">launched<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the &#8220;debate&#8221; by meeting mayors of many cities, but not in public. He seems to have been concerned that if he organized meetings open to the public, he would be immediately chased away by crowds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The first two meetings took place in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2019\/01\/15\/01016-20190115ARTFIG00060-grand-debat-comment-va-se-derouler-la-visite-d-emmanuel-macron-a-grand-bourgtheroulde.php\">small<\/a><\/strong><strong> <a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/politique\/macron-a-souillac-partie-de-campagne-19-01-2019-2287064_20.php\">cities<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (with 2000-3000 inhabitants), and with mayors whom the organizers &#8212; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/politique\/2019\/01\/15\/01002-20190115ARTFIG00389-le-debat-marathon-d-emmanuel-macron-avec-les-maires.php\">chosen<\/a><\/strong><\/span> by Macron &#8212; allowed to come. The organizers also selected the questions to be asked, then sent them to Macron to be answered at the meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The day before each meeting, the selected city was placed under the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/a-grand-bourgtheroulde-debat-sous-tres-haute-securite-pour-la-venue-de-macron_2057384.html\">administration<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of legions of police. All access roads to the city were closed, and anyone found wearing a yellow vest or carrying one in his car was fined. All <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/flash-actu\/2019\/01\/15\/97001-20190115FILWWW00235-gilets-jaunes-gaz-lacrymogene-a-grand-bourgtheroulde.php\">protests<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in the city were flatly forbidden. The police made sure that the road used by Macron&#8217;s convoy to reach the city was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zieKt0DN21A\">empty<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of any human presence for several hours before the convoy arrived.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Television news channels were asked to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/medias\/a-la-tele-le-debat-marathon-de-macron-fait-un-carton_2057658.html\">broadcast<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the entire meetings, which lasted six to seven hours. Only a few journalists, also selected by Macron, had permission to attend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Several commentators <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liberation.fr\/france\/2019\/01\/16\/macron-ou-le-show-de-la-conviction_1703270\">stressed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that pretending to &#8220;debate&#8221; is nonsense, and that entrusting the organization of the &#8220;debate&#8221; and the drafting of its conclusions to members of the government, and the way the meetings were organized, clearly show that these performances are a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/politique\/gilets-jaunes-le-grand-debat-est-fausse-tacle-chantal-jouanno-25-01-2019-2288751_20.php\">sham<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Some commentators <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/editos-du-point\/franz-olivier-giesbert\/fog-macron-et-le-syndrome-louis-xvi-15-01-2019-2285886_70.php\">pointed out<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that the term &#8220;register of grievances&#8221; has not been used since the time of absolute monarchy, that mayors are treated as waxworks and that placing the cities Macron visits in a state of siege is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/politique\/a-bourgtheroulde-le-rendez-vous-manque-de-macron-et-des-gilets-jaunes-16-01-2019-2286137_20.php\">unworthy<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of a democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">A French economist, Nicolas Lecaussin, who grew up in Romania, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/societe\/2019\/01\/17\/31003-20190117ARTFIG00245-nicolas-lecaussin-le-grand-debat-me-rappelle-la-roumanie-en-1990.php\">wrote<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that these meetings reminded him of those in Romania during communism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The author \u00c9ric Zemmour <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Q69mt1xIMEY\">said<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that Macron is desperately trying to save his presidency but that the attempt will be useless:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;Macron has lost all legitimacy. His presidency is dead&#8230; For three months the country stopped economically; and Emmanuel Macron, to try to save his presidency, inflicts on the country two months of additional economic stagnation, and two more months of demonstrations. When people understand that they have been deceived, anger could increase&#8230; France is already a country in very bad shape.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The French economy is, in fact, sclerotic. The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Y8eUhUDDI0\">Index of Economic Freedom<\/a><\/strong><\/span> created by the Heritage Foundation and the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> ranks it <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/index\/country\/france\">71st<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>in the world (35th among the 44 countries in the Europe region) and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/index\/pdf\/2019\/countries\/france.pdf\">notes<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>that &#8220;the government spending accounts for more than half of total domestic output&#8221;. The Index also reveals that &#8220;the budget has been chronically in deficit&#8221;; that &#8220;corruption remains a problem and that &#8220;the labor market is burdened with rigid regulations&#8221; leading to a high level of unemployment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">France has lost almost all its <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/lexpansion.lexpress.fr\/actualite-economique\/comment-l-economie-francaise-s-est-transformee-en-trente-ans_1379968.html\">factories<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (industrial jobs account for only 9.6% of total employment). Its <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/dossiers\/economie\/monde-agricole-crise\/\">agriculture<\/a><\/strong><\/span> is in ruins, despite huge European subsidies: 30% percent of French farmers earn less than 350 euros ($400) a month and dozens commit <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XWkYqa7PJPw\">suicide<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>each year. In the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/secteur\/high-tech\/2017\/10\/27\/32001-20171027ARTFIG00056-nouvelle-demonstration-de-force-de-quatre-geants-de-la-high-tech.php\">high-tech<\/a><\/strong><\/span> sector, France is essentially absent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">A <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2016\/05\/16\/01016-20160516ARTFIG00115-la-fuite-des-cerveaux-francais-s-accelere.php\">brain drain<\/a><\/strong><\/span> has started that show no signs it will stop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In parallel, each year, 200,000 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2018\/06\/19\/01016-20180619ARTFIG00310-les-chiffres-de-l-immigration-en-france.php\">immigrants<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from Africa or the Arab world, often without skills, arrive. Most are Muslim and have been contributing to the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/actualite-france\/2018\/09\/09\/01016-20180909ARTFIG00153-l-alarmante-propagation-de-l-ideologie-islamiste.php\">Islamization<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">When a talk show host recently asked Zemmour why Macron is not placing the country&#8217;s interest higher by taking the reality on the ground into account, the author <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NmxEtHws9FI\">replied<\/a><\/strong><\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;Macron is a technocrat. He thinks he is always right. He was programmed to do what he does. For him, France and the French people do not count. He is at the service of technocracy. He will do exactly what is wanted by the technocracy and a higher class, [who are] totally disconnected from the bulk of the country&#8217;s population&#8230; Those who want to understand have to read Christophe Guilluy.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Guilluy, a geographer, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/societe\/christophe-guilluy-la-france-populaire-impose-son-diagnostic_2050342.html\">published<\/a><\/strong><\/span> two books: <em>La France p\u00e9riph\u00e9rique<\/em> (&#8220;Peripheral France&#8221;) in 2014, and, just weeks before the outbreak of the uprising, <em>No society. La fin de la classe moyenne occidentale<\/em> (&#8220;No Society. The End of the Western Middle Class&#8221;). In them, he explains that French population today is divided into three groups. The first group is a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/chroniques\/christophe-guilluy-nous-allons-vers-une-periode-de-tensions-et-de-paranoia-identitaire-21-09-2016-2070040_2.php\">ruling upper class<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, totally integrated into globalization, made up of technocrats, politicians, senior civil servants, executives working for multinational companies, and journalists working for the mainstream media. The members of this class live in Paris and the main cities of France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The second group lives in the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/politique\/2015\/10\/26\/31001-20151026ARTFIG00070-christophe-guilluy-les-banlieues-ne-sont-pas-des-ghettos-ce-sont-des-sas.php\">suburbs<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>of the main cities and in no-go zones (&#8220;<em>Zones Urbaines Sensibles<\/em>&#8220;). It consists mainly of immigrants. The French upper class, who rule, recruit people to serve it directly or indirectly. They are poorly paid, but highly subsidized by the government, and increasingly live according to their own cultures and standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The third group is extremely large: it is the rest of the population. It is this group that is called &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/politique\/2018\/11\/29\/31001-20181129ARTFIG00301-la-precarite-urbaine-angle-mort-de-la-france-peripherique-de-christophe-guilluy.php\">peripheral France<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.&#8221; Its members are made up of low-ranking civil servants, blue collar workers and former blue-collar workers, employees in general, craftsmen, small entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, farmers, and the unemployed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">For the ruling upper class, they are useless. The ruling upper class treat them as regrettable dead weight and expect nothing from them except silence and submission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Members of &#8220;peripheral France&#8221; have been <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/politique\/2018\/04\/27\/31001-20180427ARTFIG00320-le-plan-banlieue-c-est-deshabiller-la-france-peripherique-pour-habiller-celle-qui-vit-de-l-autre-cote-du-periph.php\">driven out<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of the suburbs by the influx of immigrants and the emergence of no-go zones. These &#8220;peripherals&#8221;, for the most part, live 30 kilometers or more from the big cities. They can see that the upper class dismisses them. They often have a hard time making ends meet. They pay <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/economie\/pouvoir-d-achat-les-gagnants-et-les-perdants-de-la-politique-de-macron-11-10-2018-2262270_28.php\">taxes<\/a><\/strong><\/span> but can see that a growing portion is being used to subsidize the very people who drove them out of their suburban homes. When Macron <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/conjoncture\/2018\/12\/18\/20002-20181218ARTFIG00087-suppression-de-l-isf-peut-on-deja-dresser-un-premier-bilan.php\">lowered<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the taxes of the wealthiest, but increased the taxes of the &#8220;peripherals&#8221; with a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualite\/politique\/hausse-des-taxes-des-carburants-macron-assume_2046398.html\">fuel tax<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, it was seen as the last straw &#8212; in addition to his <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/flash-actu\/2018\/11\/25\/97001-20181125FILWWW00010-gilets-jaunes-macron-recolte-ce-qu-il-a-seme-retailleau.php\">arrogant<\/a><\/strong><\/span> condescension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a recent <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spiked-online.com\/2019\/01\/11\/the-gilets-jaunes-are-unstoppable\/\">interview<\/a><\/strong><\/span> on the British web magazine <em>Spiked<\/em>, Guilluy said that the &#8220;yellow vests&#8221; movement is a desperate awakening of &#8220;peripheral France&#8221;. He predicted that despite Macron&#8217;s efforts to displace the problem, the awakening will last, and that either Macron &#8220;will recognize the existence of these people, or he will have to opt for a soft totalitarianism&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">For the moment, Macron does not seem to want to recognize that these people even exist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">According to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.causeur.fr\/emmanuel-macron-gilets-jaunes-depart-158002\">Fran\u00e7ois Martin<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, a journalist for the monthly <em>Causeur<\/em>, Macron has placed himself in a stalemate:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;He must make decisions and he can no longer take any decision without making things much worse&#8230; Macron should agree to resign, but will not do it, and would prefer to go to the end, and hit a wall&#8230; The next three years will be hell for the yellow vests and for the French&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">At the end of the protests in Paris on January 26, thousands of &#8220;yellow vests&#8221; had planned to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/video.lefigaro.fr\/figaro\/video\/gilets-jaunes-la-suite-la-nuit-jaune-tourne-court-a-paris\/5994891710001\/\">gather<\/a><\/strong><\/span> peacefully on one of the main squares of the city, the Place de la R\u00e9publique, for a &#8220;debate&#8221; and to provide responses to the &#8220;debate&#8221; organized by Macron. The police were ordered to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I3m-0CJTOBM\">disperse<\/a><\/strong><\/span> them brutally; they once again used rubber ball launchers and Sting-Ball grenades to do just that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">One of the leaders of the &#8220;yellow vests&#8221; movement, Jerome Rodrigues, was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9HQ8Ca8DjQ0\">shot<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in the face while filming police officers in a square nearby, the Place de la Bastille. He lost an eye and for several days was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/flash-actu\/2019\/01\/26\/97001-20190126FILWWW00127-l-igpn-saisie-apres-la-blessure-a-l8217il-de-jerome-rodrigues.php\">hospitalized<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. Other protestors were wounded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In the spring of 2016, leftists had organized <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lepoint.fr\/politique\/que-reste-t-il-de-nuit-debout-30-11-2016-2086933_20.php\">debates<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in the same locations and were allowed to remain there for three months with no police intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In an article describing the events of January 26, columnist Ivan Rioufol <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.lefigaro.fr\/rioufol\/2019\/01\/les-foulards-rouges-grincheux-.html\">wrote<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>in <em>Le Figaro<\/em>: &#8220;Repression seems to be the only argument of the caste in power, faced with a large-scale protest that will not weaken&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Why today&#8217;s events are especially ugly, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/societe\/2019\/01\/28\/31003-20190128ARTFIG00190-la-police-a-moins-reprime-les-emeutes-en-banlieue-en-2005-que-les-8220gilets-jaunes8221.php\">according<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>to Xavier Lemoine, the mayor of Montfermeil, a city in the Eastern suburbs of Paris where the 2005 riots were notably destructive, is that:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;In 2005, the police were clearly the target of rioters, and they showed restraint in the use of force to bring down the violence. Today, most of those who protest do not attack the police. But instead of acting to bring down the violence, the police are receiving orders pushing them to be very violent. I do not blame the police. I blame those who give them orders&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The next day, Sunday, January 27, a demonstration was organized by Macron&#8217;s supporters, who called themselves &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexpress.fr\/actualites\/1\/societe\/paroles-de-foulards-rouges_2059528.html\">the red scarves<\/a><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;. The demonstration was supposed to show that an impressive number of people were still on Macron&#8217;s side. Organizers said that ten thousand people came. Videos, however, show that the number seems to have been far <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liberation.fr\/checknews\/2019\/01\/28\/les-foulards-rouges-etaient-ils-vraiment-10-500-pourquoi-les-medias-n-ont-pas-compte-comme-annonce_1705859\">lower<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><em>Dr. Guy Milli\u00e8re, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/13660\/france-unrest\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The corporate media isn\u2019t reporting on it because of an alleged D-Notice but the unrest in France continues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":182947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183193"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183199,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183193\/revisions\/183199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/182947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}