I've seen protests in France and most of the time for excellent reasons, but, this is pure destruction for the sake of destruction.
3 December 2018
By John Lichfield
...On Saturday, the gilets jaunes (click here) – or a large, violent fringe of the wider, peaceful “yellow vest” movement – took evident joy in smashing up the grandest and wealthiest parts of the French capital. Appeals on social media, where the movement began a month ago, are calling for another assault on Paris this weekend.
How can a movement that began a month ago with broadly peaceful protests against high fuel prices have generated such vicious enmity towards not just President Macron but the entire French political system? Some French commentators have suggested that the yellow vests should be rebranded “yellow shirts” – a fascist rabble. This is dangerous and misleading talk, for now....
They want to overthrow the government. They aren't interested in protests for change to make life better. They want the French government to end. Who is behind all this?
24 November 2018
By Kim Willsher
Police have used teargas (click here) and water cannon against fuel tax protesters in Paris after violent clashes erupted on the Champs Élysées.
Thousands of demonstrators from all over France massed on the famous boulevard on Saturday to express their anger at the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his government. But what was supposed to be a peaceful protest by the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) movement degenerated rapidly.
On one side, protesters reportedly infiltrated by far-right extremists and casseurs (rioters and hooligans) tore up paving stones and hurled them and other missiles at police before building barricades that they set alight. On the other, police used teargas, pepper spray, water cannon and bulldozers to clear the road....
We live in increasingly strange times when jumping to conclusions only powers the extremists and anarchists. The way I see it, the extremists saw a chance to take a moral issue and enslave it for their own purposes.
