MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Yellow vests +++ - Everybody's against Macron!

Hail, hail, the anti-Macron gang was all there! Populist "yellow vests" joined "black bloc" anarchists (aka "antifa"), members of the Front National, feminist activists and anti-climate change marchers, all joined the traditional union-organized May Day demonstrations in a show of solidarity against French president and darling of the progressive one-worlders, Emmanuel Macron.

Protests were held in 203 cities across France, drawing some 165,000 angry people. The main demonstration in Paris is said to have involved anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 in sometimes violent clashes with 7400 police and soldiers. There were clashes in the Montparnasse district of Paris where hundreds of anti-capitalist "black bloc" activists pushed to the front of the crowd. Bottles and other projectiles were reported to have been hurled at police with a parked police van set alight in the street. France's Minister of the Interior (the one responsible for what we call "homeland security") had warned that up to 2000 "radical activists" might try to hijack the Paris event and team up with "radicalized" protesters from within the yellow vest movement. (Not a word about "radicalized" followers of the Prophet though.)

The gendarmerie and other minions made liberal use (pun intended) of tear gas and rubber-pellet-spreading "sting" grenades in an effort to quell the minority of troublemakers who threw stones, overturned cars and erected flaming barricades in the streets. By early evening, authorities had detained more than 250 demonstrators who had "failed to respect our authoritie!", and carried out almost 13,000 "preventive searches" of people and cars. The show of strength comes on the heels of a recently enacted law that gives police the right to stop people and examine their bags and vehicles, and makes it a criminal offence for protesters to conceal their faces. (Muslims exempted, apparently.)

Last Thursday, M Macron took to the télé to make a surprise admission that the yellow vest movement, which began last November as a reaction to a new fuel tax and service cuts, had made some "just demands" and tapped into legitimate feelings of "anger and impatience for change." In response to their protests, he promised income tax cuts, a return to pension indexing, greater proportional representation and more referendums. Leaders of the gilets jaunes derided the plan of le Président as "too little, too late" and returned to the streets last Saturday, and again today.

Further reading and viewing:
"Marine Le Pen explains the Yellow Vest protests" (includes video), (WWW 27/12/18)
"What the 'Yellow Vests' want for France - good for us too?", (WWW 10/12/18)