The End of France as We Know It?
When an event grabs headlines like the protests in France have I temper my reactions to it. I didn’t give the Yellow Vest protests much thought at first wanting to see where they would lead.
Protests like this and even bigger ones like Catalonian independence are invariably betrayed by the European political establishment. They become an excuse to move towards tighter control — more cops, more surveillance, crackdowns on free speech, etc.
So, sometimes it’s hard to separate the manufactured reality show from the spontaneous uprising of human frustration.
But after the past two weekends of violent protests, after the French government backed down on the new diesel tax which was the inciting incident of this story, it’s safe to say this is real and there is real fear brewing among the political elite of Europe.
As Rev. Steve Turley points out in this video, the media across Europe and the U.S. are scared of where this leads.
A return of national sovereignty across Europe is no longer coming. I think it’s here. This can no longer be stage-managed as a relief valve of the massive discontent at neoliberal policies rammed down Europeans’ throats as it has in the past.
Something far more significant is here. They can’t cordon off this movement in France and use it to demonize the leadership and, by extension, the people.
It’s jumped borders. It’s part of the zeitgeist now.
No matter how many times rags like The Guardian, Der Spiegel and Politico call these people ‘far-right’ or ‘alt-right’ and link them to Nazism it doesn’t stop them because the protestors don’t see themselves that way.
And well they shouldn’t because they aren’t.
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