On the third anniversary of its establishment, how did the yellow jackets shake the throne of the Elysee?

Three years have passed since the first launch of the "yellow jackets" movement that shook the throne of the Elysee, and exposed the depth of the spatial and class inequalities in France. While questions are raised about whether its protests are still a strong number within the country's political equation.

On November 17, 2018, the streets of France were filled with a yellow torrent of protest, the residents of the far margins were demanding the right to their livelihood, shouting in the streets: "The salary is not enough to provide a box of pasta at the end of the month!" And "the political elite in Paris don't care about us!" While the blame for this "big bang" is the Macron government's decision to raise the tax on hydrocarbons in response to his energy transition policies, which was the point that spilled the cup.

Today, after three years in the street with more than 156 protest activities led by the movement, it promises a strong return on the occasion of this anniversary next Saturday. While it is an occasion for every observer to return to its most important stations, the one by which it changed the face of French political practice, wondering while we are a few months away from the presidential race about whether the movement is still a strong figure capable of influencing it.

Back to the yellow jackets

The Macron government's decision in 2018 to increase the value-added tax on fuel by 14% was the flashpoint of the yellow vest protests. The calls to take to the street began with a petition written by Priscilla Lidosky, who later became a prominent face in the movement. The number of signatures quickly exceeded one million, and it was decided on social networks to take to the streets on Saturday 17 November.

At the time, more than 300,000 demonstrators came out, wearing the yellow jacket as a warning of the danger that awaits them through the government's decision, demanding a reduction in gasoline prices and refusing to force the economic elite in Paris. The end of the demonstration was tragic, as Macron's government had no answer to their demands except repression. Two civilians were killed that day, in addition to 585 wounded, according to French Interior Ministry figures at the time.

At that moment, matters began to get out of the government's hand, and the livelihood demands that the movement first came out for will soon turn into political demands calling for the dismissal of the president and the announcement of the end of the Fifth Republic. Thus, Macron increased his suppression of the protesters, unleashing blind violence that did not differentiate between a participant in the protest and those who had nothing to do with it, using internationally prohibited weapons, killing and amputating limbs and blinding a large number of people.

As a general outcome: Since the outbreak of the protests, the violence of the French police and gendarmerie against the yellow jackets has claimed more than 4,400 injuries, of whom 22 have lost at least one eye, and five have had their hands amputated. All of these casualties were carried out with internationally prohibited weapons: LBD-40 bullets and GLI-F4 bombs.

One of those victims was Patrice Philippe, a man in his fifties whose eye was amputated by French police bullets during the protests. He stated in a previous report to "RTL": "Loss of an eye complicates life, as a feeling of loss and loss of identity overwhelms you, you can't even see your face. In the mirror and meet that face you no longer know. Philip was not only deprived of his eye, but also of his strength as a truck driver, adding that "the psychological crises that the injury left behind do not only harm the injured, but also affect his surroundings as a whole with frustration and heartbreak."

The analysts say that most frightened the French government is that the movement was launched without the leadership, in contrast was characterized by the organization of an arbitrator and the movements of well thought out, as they surround all the detail, even from media coverage have built your notify them against the opacity and defamation , which was Tnejh against the French press.

The movement influenced many parallel protests in France throughout the period that followed, and many movements spawned it: such as the “black vests” of irregular immigrants, the “green vests” of environmental activists, and the “red vests” of union demonstrations that came out against the government to reform the system. Retirement and declared a strike paralyzed the country for weeks.

On the other hand, Macron and his government tried hard to contain the “yellow vests.” In December 2018, he announced that he would provide subsidies to all those who earn the minimum wage. However, this step did not curb the protests of the movement that continued to emerge, as its activists refuse to this day to be described as "dead".

Back on the street after three years

It is true that the two years that France spent under the weight of the epidemic caused the “yellow vest” protests to subside, but it did not completely end, this is what its protesters promise as they announce their intention to take to the streets again and forcefully next Saturday.

In a live broadcast on his Facebook page, Jerome Rodriguez, one of the prominent faces of the "yellow vests", announced a protest demonstration on November 20, according to him, which will be "one strong demonstration in the heart of the capital Paris", calling for a massive landing of protesters from all over the Republic.

Rodriguez attributed the fading of the protests to the government's attempt to contain the energy of popular anger by providing subsidies, saying: "The government is afraid that the street will reach the point of losing hope, so it is trying to vent it with subsidies so that it does not explode in its face." And he added, speaking about the reasons for the continuation of the movement is that "Macron's policies have not changed, and we saw this in allocating 240 billion euros to rescue companies in exchange for 19 billion euros only to reform the health sector, without talking about spending millions of euros in order to buy new armored vehicles for the police in order to suppress us with them." We understand that "the Macron government prefers to abuse and disable people rather than treat them in hospitals."

There are still many outstanding issues that raise the rate of anger in the French street, on top of which is the "health passport", which a large segment of the people rejects and has protested for over the past weeks. There are also increases in the gas bill this winter due to the increase in its prices internationally, a file against which the French began to protest.

On the other hand, the French media is still pursuing a policy of distortion against the "yellow jackets", claiming that they have been contained by the extreme right, accusations to which Rodriguez responded, saying: "There are no parties in the yellow jackets. Our only party is the full refrigerator war, the party of good life, the party of democracy direct and a monthly salary party that is enough to feed us at the end of the month!”