Posted on 12/03/2018 12:35:01 PM PST by SeekAndFind
PARIS — "Yellow Jacket" protesters blocking access to 11 fuel depots belonging to one of the world's biggest oil companies have left gas stations running dry in France.
At least 75 of the company's 2,200 gas stations were out of fuel, a spokesman for energy giant Total said Monday.
For more than two weeks, protesters angry over gas taxes and the high cost of living have been blocking roads across France, impeding access to fuel depots, shopping malls and some airports.
Riot police were overrun on Saturday as protesters brought chaos to Paris' fanciest neighborhoods, torching dozens of cars, looting boutiques and smashing up luxury private homes and cafes in the worst disturbances the capital has seen since 1968.
More than 100 people were injured in the French capital and 412 arrested over the weekend.
The "Yellow Jacket" revolt erupted on Nov. 17 and poses a formidable challenge to President Emmanuel Macron as he tries to counter a plunge in popularity over his economic reforms, which are seen as favoring the wealthy.
The "Yellow Jacket" activists are named after the neon vests French drivers are obliged to carry in their vehicles in the case of roadside emergencies.
The movement began online as an impromptu rebellion against higher fuel prices but has morphed into a broader outpouring of anger over the squeeze that living costs are putting on middle-class household budgets.
Their core demand is a freeze on further planned tax increases on gas and diesel — the next is due in January — and measures to help bolster spending power.
But many have also called for Macron to quit.
Public support for the "Yellow Jackets" remains high, with seven-in-10 people backing their protest, according to a Harris Interactive opinion poll conducted after Saturday's unrest.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
I wish I could work up empathy, but I just can’t.
Not since 1789.
Macron can impose a state of emergency. French people are not backing down.
Two immovable forces are set to collide.
I’m actually looking forward to when the Dems get control and do this here!
I want to hear the cries from my liberal relatives who drive huge SUVs.
"...yellow vests French drivers are obliged to carry in their vehicles..."
I love these yellow vesters. They are not only employing great strategy but they are working class men, many from outside of Paris, and very courageous.
Here they would be Trump supporters. We should be taking notes.
Germany should invade. The Maginot Line won’t slow them down at all.
French drivers are obliged to carry the vests their vehicles in the case of roadside emergencies ( e.g., changing a flat tire ).
This is a signal to other drivers that someone is in need of help.
With what? Most of their tanks are in the shop.
I have French expat acquaintances. All are professionals - doctors, engineers, accoutants. All lament the state of present-day France - crime, immigration, taxes, sanitation, etc... None would send their children back to school or to live with relatives there.
Yet they all repeat the same typical leftist slogans - EU good! trump bad! Immigration good! Climate change bad!
They are all walking contradictions and full of cognitive dissonance. I guess its typically French. And I find that very annoying.
I think what is happening right now in France is quite important. It’s beginning to spread to other countries. This isn’t a “left wing” protest. And it isn’t just about fuel taxes, it’s about everything that the left has foisted upon the people of Europe and they are fed up! I’ve heard that many have been chanting “WE WANT TRUMP!”. Have you seen the videos of the police removing their helmets in solidarity with the protesters? What we are witnessing over there is what could have happened here if HRC would have won. Is the MSM reporting this story? I don’t know as I don’t follow them BUT I doubt that they are.
btw, I’m guessing the car burning rioters are from the left. They should be discounted.
This is the biggest uprising in France since the student protests of 1968 that saw the downfall of President De Gaulle.
The Fifth Republic he founded is in crisis.
The carbon tax is only going to apply to vehicles with Trump bumper stickers, dontcha know.
Sure, because everyone can simply sell his car and buy a different one at a moment's notice. And in the presence of an idiot social engineer who simultaneously is making it impossible to sell the old one in the first place. And who is not only stupid enough to do all that, he's stupid enough to announce that he's doing all that. And then is stupid enough to wonder why they're mad.
The beauty of the situation is that while George Soros is fixated on Trump and RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA his home base in continental Europe is imploding beneath his feet.
AGW is the biggest scam in the history of all mankind.
People could switch to bicycles. I’m happily car-free.
“Macron says the increased fuel taxes are part of his effort to combat climate change”
The effect of the Paris Accords … in Paris!
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