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Thousands of "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) protesters, often masked, riot in the streets of Paris and other major French cities for a third weekend. Hundreds have been arrested and injured (including police) in the often violent protests. Reuters documents the activities in some detail. This video shows a mob of protesters surround and attack a policeman (it's ok, he gets away, with help from one or more of the protesters).
The protests are over fuel taxes imposed to discourage fossil fuel use and help France meet its carbon emission goals under the Paris Climate Accord (which the U.S. is not party to.)
With the usual nod to common sense:
The U.S. embassy issued a statement urging citizens to be careful, saying that "violent clashes between police and protesters" continued in at least three of Paris's 20 districts, known as arrondissements. "Avoid all demonstrations, seek shelter in the vicinity of clashes, follow instructions of security personnel"
Chants and graffiti sprayed during the protests sometimes expresses frustration with the administration:
[Some] targeted the Arc de Triomphe, chanting "Macron Resign" and scrawling on the facade of the towering 19th-century arch: "The yellow vests will triumph."
And other times simply more general anarchistic statements:
Protesters smashed the windows of a newly opened flagship Apple Store (AAPL.O) and luxury boutiques of Chanel and Dior, where they daubed the slogan "Merry Mayhem" on a wooden board.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented Tuesday on the protests, saying that:
he understood the anger of voters outside France's big cities over the squeeze fuel prices have put on households. But he insisted he would not be bounced into changing policy by "thugs".
Those "conciliatory" words have no doubt improved the situation.
The protests enjoy widespread support inside and outside the major cities, including from many of the police even as they strive to keep order, and show no signs of abating.
Also at NBC.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @06:43AM (7 children)
I've been semi-aware of these protests for about week, maybe two. I saw it online someplace. It finally got something like 30 seconds on CBS tonight. I would't go to NBC for information on this, as they're probably not much better. Journalism is dead, Dead, DEAD at the old networks. I only watch them out of habit, as background noise while I cook, eat, or wash dishes because... well... I'm getting just a bit old and set in my ways. I'm not dead though. They are. They literally air stories about dogs before they air stories about an entire European country in turmoil, and I don't meany "literally". I mean LITERALLY.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @07:06AM (2 children)
For something to listen to while doing chores, go audiobooks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @07:50AM (1 child)
I would actually want to pay attention to the audio book, whereas much of the evening news is drowned out by running water and dishes banging around in the sink. ie, the audio book would take too much attention away from what I'm doing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 04 2018, @02:43AM
With the audiobook method, you put in your earbuds and then actively seek out chores to prolong the listening.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 03 2018, @12:03PM
France is not in turmoil. France is france. People protest about nothing because they are french.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday December 03 2018, @12:54PM
Perhaps they don't want to give you ideas. Who knows? Maybe next time "Occupy..." will result in something, why take the risks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday December 03 2018, @08:31PM
If the "news" doesn't suit the Agenda, then it is not spoken of, except maybe as a 2-second throwaway mention on an evening broadcast so that nobody will accuse the network of having buried the story.
Also, protests in France are near constant about something or other, so it's rather like proclaiming, "the sun rose in the east this morning." I don't know if the protests there are effective, but it is admirable that the French still believe in direct action instead of a half-watched election every four years that they may or may not bother to vote in. It is something from modern France we all would do well to emulate.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday December 04 2018, @01:31AM
250 fires, 120 burned cars, "a few" burned buildings in Paris. Not sure if it is one weekend or total.
I keep wondering what NY City cops would do if some "protesters" to burn "a few buildings" in Manhattan...
I walk by police station on 42nd every other morning. Each of the parked car out there - dozens of them - comes with two machine guns in the trunk.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.