As we come closer to August, when most of France (and Europe) is in holiday mode, I think that it is an apt moment to summarise what has happened in relation to the Yellow Vests movement since the last time I wrote about this topic, which happened to be part 2<\/a><\/strong><\/span> of my \u201cInside the Yellow Vests\u201d series (part 1<\/a> can be found here).<\/span><\/p>\n Those who follow events from afar and thus don\u2019t have access to a reliable and consistent flow of information will probably consider that the Yellow Vests movement was just a flash in the pan and is now in the past, or that it achieved its aim and that everything is now great in France. Of course, they\u2019d be very much mistaken. It\u2019s important to think of the Yellow Vests movement as a stage of a process rather than just a fashionable trend that distinguishes itself by occasionally walking in a column and hurling insults at law enforcement. But what \u201cprocess\u201d do I speak of?<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m sure that I will receive abuse from so-called \u201clibertarians\u201d and the like, but the process is capitalism. And the stage of the process I refer to is one that is relatively new to us \u2013 when the exploitation of labour reaches a critical level. A deadly cocktail of the consequences of colonisation, an oligarchic system, a tribalistic society, a total lack of sovereignty, a frighteningly ugly population pyramid, etc have resulted in what we are now seeing: the derailment of the train of \u201cmodernity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Essentially, everything of value has been sucked dry by the American imperialistic project known as the \u201cEU\u201d. The middle class has been demolished and replaced by a working class living on credit. The youth are being robbed of their future, and pensioners are being robbed of their legacy. The Macron<\/strong><\/span><\/a> regime\u2019s ethos is simple: work more; be paid less. Starve infrastructure, but make timely investments into personal offshores. Privatise everything in the interests of pals, present it as \u201creforms\u201d. In general, it\u2019s a classic neoliberal hit job. I can write much more about the mechanics of the \u201cLe R\u00e9publique En Marche\u201d scam, but I prefer to keep this article laconic. So let\u2019s now move on to what the situation now is \u2013 after the May 1st protest, where my last article (part 2) ended.<\/span><\/p>\n The May 1st protest was supposed to be a real missile, but it was smothered by the regime due to one main reason: the unions are rotten to the core, thus convergence with them is like pissing in the wind. They don\u2019t care about the Yellow Vests and are ultimately in the regime\u2019s pocket. Another factor was the pretty lame route chosen for the demonstration \u2013 almost a straight line, which the police can encircle easily. But in a way this flop was a blessing in disguise, because the Yellow Vests movement was starting to be outmanoeuvred by the regime. There was too much focus on Saturday protests and a lack of ideas concerning what else to do. Non-sanctioned protests became frankly impossible, since the police can read social media too.<\/span><\/p>\n In June the initiator of the Yellow Vests movement (not a \u201cleader\u201d per say) had the balls to say what needed to be said, even if it would initially upset many other Yellow Vests: the themed Saturday marches have become quite pathetic and ineffective, and thus more radicals actions are needed. And his video message had the desired reaction. The activity at the toll roads, where the Yellow Vests hold the barrier open and let travellers pass for free, had a surge. The number of Yellow Vests who waved flags on bridges over highways also surged. It was understood that a stake mustn\u2019t be placed on just one action; otherwise the movement will become stale.<\/span><\/p>\n And now fast forward to June 22nd \u2013 when the Yellow Vests tried to block the transport infrastructure of the country. What happened? The regime had to again try to deflate the Yellow Vests\u2019 tyres, and thus arrested and interrogated\/intimidated one of the social media personalities who promoted the blockade. The Yellow Vests deleted all their live streams from this day too, as a precautionary measure, since the police were hunting for \u201corganisers\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n So, on the surface it looks like the police (and the Interior Ministry) have adjusted well and are successfully coping with the situation, and that the Yellow Vests simply are not able to achieve anything, and this is why the participation is becoming less and less. WRONG! Firstly, the participation is at equilibrium with the level of repression. It is normal that the numbers reduce the tighter the state apparatus becomes. It shows that the state is afraid, and that the Yellow Vests indeed pose a threat. The turnout on Saturdays is still impressive and keeps the police mobilised. Secondly, the puppet media lies all the time about numbers, and parrots on a loop \u201cthe numbers decrease, the movement deflates\u201d<\/em>. Yet on June 29th in Paris there was close to 10,000 people there (my photos and videos from this day can be found here<\/a>). Of course, the TV pretended like nothing was happening \u2013 the usual deliberate total boycott.<\/span><\/p>\n