Yellow
Vest: Shock stats reveal depth of Macron chaos - 50,000 on streets
and 11 dead
FRENCH
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Sunday said that 11 people
had lost their lives during the country’s sometimes violent yellow
vest crisis, as he unveiled the grim consequences of more than six
months of social unrest.
the Express,
17 March, 2017
The
protest movement began more than six months ago as a peaceful
backlash against rising fuel and living costs, but quickly spiralled
into a sometimes violent anti-Macron rebellion.
In
an interview with the conservative weekly Le Journal du Dimanche
(JDD), the security chief confirmed that a total of 11 deaths had
been linked to the anti-government protests, adding that most had
been the result of road accidents caused by roadblocks.
Mr
Castaner said that 2,500 yellow vests had been injured since the
protest movement began in November last year, including 76 seriously.
Some
1,800 members of the security forces also sustained injuries, he
added.
He
also said that 50,000 protests had been held since the start of the
movement.
The
yellow vest protests, so-called because of the fluorescent safety
jackets all French drivers have to keep in their cars, began late
last year over spiralling fuel and living costs.
But
the movement tapped into much deeper frustrations among the
struggling working class, and quickly morphed into a wider rebellion
against President Emmanuel Macron’s elitist government and
pro-business economic policies.
On
some occasions, mostly in Paris, the weekly protests have sparked
violent clashes between yellow vests and riot police, with both sides
accusing the other of abuses.
There
has been huge controversy over the rough tactics used by police to
restore calm during the protests, namely the use of non-lethal rubber
bullets and sting-ball grenades.
Yellow
vests say the use of such devices has put demonstrators in
unnecessary danger and caused serious injuries. Activists say that 23
protesters have lost the use of an eye, five have lost a hand and one
a testicle.
The
protest movement began more than six months ago as a peaceful
backlash against rising fuel and living costs, but quickly spiralled
into a sometimes violent anti-Macron rebellion.
In
an interview with the conservative weekly Le Journal du Dimanche
(JDD), the security chief confirmed that a total of 11 deaths had
been linked to the anti-government protests, adding that most had
been the result of road accidents caused by roadblocks.
Mr
Castaner said that 2,500 yellow vests had been injured since the
protest movement began in November last year, including 76 seriously.
Some
1,800 members of the security forces also sustained injuries, he
added.
He
also said that 50,000 protests had been held since the start of the
movement.
The
yellow vest protests, so-called because of the fluorescent safety
jackets all French drivers have to keep in their cars, began late
last year over spiralling fuel and living costs.
But
the movement tapped into much deeper frustrations among the
struggling working class, and quickly morphed into a wider rebellion
against President Emmanuel Macron’s elitist government and
pro-business economic policies.
On
some occasions, mostly in Paris, the weekly protests have sparked
violent clashes between yellow vests and riot police, with both sides
accusing the other of abuses.
There
has been huge controversy over the rough tactics used by police to
restore calm during the protests, namely the use of non-lethal rubber
bullets and sting-ball grenades.
Yellow
vests say the use of such devices has put demonstrators in
unnecessary danger and caused serious injuries. Activists say that 23
protesters have lost the use of an eye, five have lost a hand and one
a testicle.
But
the protest movement, now in its 32nd consecutive week, has all but
fizzled out.
Only
7,000 yellow vests took to the streets of France on Saturday and only
950 in Paris.
The
numbers are a far cry from the ones recorded at the height of the
crisis, when some 250,000 people took part in anti-government rallies
nationwide.
On
Monday, Mr Castaner defended the way riot police have handled the
unrest as he launched a review of police methods in an effort to
develop new ideas for managing violent demonstrations.
“I
want to hear what you think about the use of force, about the arms we
use and what some call ‘police violence,’” he told a panel of
15 experts cherry-picked to review police tactics.
Mr
Castaner, a member of Mr Macron’s inner circle who has taken a
tough stance on protest violence, said he did not want police to
revert to soft tactics.
“We
are not going to respond to Molotov cocktails with nice feelings and
we are not going to protect the order of the Republic with soft
words,” he said.
The
social crisis put a dent in Mr Macron’s authority and forced him to
offer a package of expensive concessions worth more than 10 billion
euros (£8.9 billion) aimed at boosting the incomes of the poorest
workers and pensioners.
But
now that support for the movement has waned, Mr Macron is determined
to roll out “Act II” of his reform drive, which will include a
radical overhaul of France’s complex pensions and unemployment
benefits systems.
Both
systems are explosive issues that may reignite popular rage, even if
the yellow vest revolt has lost momentum.
OUTRAGEOUS!!
GUY VERHOFTSTAT EXPLAINS PLANS TO BRIBE POLITICIANS TO GET A SECOND
BREXIT VOTE!
the Houndog
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