{"id":200812,"date":"2020-01-14T09:06:53","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T09:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=200812"},"modified":"2020-01-17T08:30:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T08:30:32","slug":"dont-look-there-look-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=200812","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Don\u2019t look there, look here!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK media much more excited about Iran protests than those in neighboring France<\/h1>\n

Neil Clark \u2013 RT Jan 13, 2020<\/h1>\n
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Protests in Tehran (left), getting maximum media coverage, and Paris (right), getting zilch. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

Iran is thousands of miles away from Britain, yet because the power elites support them, anti-government protests in Tehran receive much wider coverage in the UK than the ones in France, just across the Channel.<\/span><\/p>\n

How many British people have ever visited Iran? How many have lived there or have second homes there?<\/span><\/p>\n

I suspect the figures are very small. It\u2019s quite a contrast with France. In 2018, it was revealed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that France came top in a survey of countries which Britons had visited. 76% of Brits had been to France at some time in their lives. According to the UK government\u2019s own website<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, about 17m Britons visit France each year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last time I went to France was in October. Then there\u2019s the expats. In 2017, France was home to 190,000 UK-born people. For many Brits, a year (or more) in Provence is a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s pretend you\u2019re a UK news editor. You\u2019d think it would be reasonable to assume that British TV viewers would be more interested in mass anti-government street protests in France, a country they know very well, than in faraway Iran, wouldn\u2019t you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, the reality is that while this weekend\u2019s anti-government protests in Iran (over the unintentional shooting down of a Ukranian airliner), led the news bulletins and were the top story for all Sunday on the BBC website, the coverage of the protests in France, and a nationwide strike over pension reform, has been scant.<\/span><\/p>\n

The French are famously quick to say \u2018Non\u2019 to things they don\u2018t like, but even by their standards, the protests taking place there have been quite extraordinary. Gilet Jaunes (Yellow Vests) demonstrations have been held across the country every weekend since December 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last weekend was \u2018Act 61.\u2019 In Paris, the protesters were pelting police with stones, trying to erect barricades in the streets and setting dumpsters on fire. Police responded with volleys of tear gas and force.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, a general strike against President Macron\u2019s planned pension age hike from 62 to 64 reached its 31st day. Macron in response temporarily suspended the planned hike. Moral of the story is that direct action works.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, none of this, which again I stress is taking place just across the English Channel, was deemed worthy of being a lead news item in the UK. Neither it must be said was the march of thousands in Glasgow to demand Scottish independence from the UK! Isn\u2019t that astonishing?<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, we woke up on Sunday to extensive coverage of anti-government (sorry, \u2018anti-regime\u2019) protests thousands of miles away in Iran. The punditocracy have the same laser-like Iranian focus. Contrast the number of tweets and statements they put out about the weekend protests in Tehran with their lack of interest in the Gilets Jaunes and demonstrations in France.<\/span><\/p>\n

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More coverage and attention in one night than I have seen of the #GiletsJaunes<\/a> in over a year. https:\/\/t.co\/RnXnqYCwmu<\/a><\/p>\n

— Gordon Dimmack (@GordonDimmack) January 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n