Why don't we start with France?
What's happening with President Emmanuel Macron
and the situation in France?
As people may have noticed there were these
demonstrations and blockades for the last
two weeks of the so-called "Yellow Vests."
This led to some significant violence in Paris,
with the Arc de Triomphe being attacked and
many cars being and windows smashed.
But these violent excesses are not typical
for this process which is going on in France.
It's just some provocateurs who immersed themselves
into this ferment which can only be described
as a mass strike ferment, of the normal, mainly
rural French population in the provinces.
These are people who are workers, who are
truckers, who are farmers, fishermen, who,
despite a lot of hard work can't make ends meet.
And they have started this process against
the threat to have an increase in the oil
and gasoline prices and general fuel prices.
But in the meantime, in the last two weeks
this has transformed itself completely, where
Macron, who first tried to ignore but then
realized he had to capitulate, so he postponed
any such changes [in the increased fuel taxes]
for the first half-year and then a year; but
this did not stop this process at all, because
in the meantime, those people demonstrating
who are supported by 80% of the French population,
they started to realize that there is a much
more fundamental question, namely, where is
society going?
That a policy which is only made for the very
rich must stop.
And that a much more fundamental transformation
is what is required.
This is a big thing.
This is not just some provocateurs, but this
is the majority of the French population,
and the most dramatic thing I think becomes
clear, is that the police trade union declared
full solidarity with the strikers, and they
will have an unlimited strike starting on
Dec. 8 and that there will also be another
nationwide big blockade and demonstration.
And there was some discussion if the government
should reintroduce martial law, which they
had for a while because of these terrorists attacks.
And it was strongly argued against it, because
as with the police, the likelihood that the
army would take the side of the Yellow Vests
is very great, because these are also people
who have families who have brothers, who have
uncles, nephews, sisters.
Therefore, when you come to a point when a
government can no longer use the police and
the army quell such a protest, then you are
normally talking about the loss of power.
We're obviously not yet completely at that
point, but this is in the air.
And I think this is a sign of the time that
the kind of neo-liberal order which resulted
in the Brexit vote two years ago; which then
led to the election of President Trump; it
led to the election victory of the Italian
government, and now it obviously has reached
France; it's already going into Belgium: It
just is a reflection that obviously the populations
in these countries are no longer willing to
accept the neo-liberal order which is so fundamentally
going against the interests of its own people.
