Yellow Vests Week 24: 23,600 Estimated By Government, 60,132 By Yellow Vests, Strasbourg Protest...

With some saying they were waiting until May 1st (Wednesday), the Yellow Vests came out onto the streets with both sides estimating smaller numbers than last week.

2600 estimated protesting by the government on the streets of Paris. Two processions including one aimed at media buildings in protest of biased media coverage. Yellow Vests gathered at the Place de la Republic for the conclusion of the protest late in the afternoon.

Police were seen during the day conducting checks of people including checking their bags. Police say they conducted 13,500 "preventive checks" in Paris today. One place they did this was on the Champs-Elysees in the vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe. The police say they made 14 arrests in Paris.

Strasbourg was designated as a major protest site today and as is often the case the "black blocks" of anarchists show up at such sites and the police used tear gas there......

I was in Paris last month and stumbled on to a Yellow Vest protest. Camera in hand, I thought this was going to be fun.

First, there was a very heavy police presence. The route was lined with cops and they sort of leap frogged up so they were along the route, in front, and behind. I would not want to mess with these cops. They had full riot gear, shields, batons, gas, etc. They looked like they were ready to kick butt.

Then the protesters came. What a sad, pathetic group they were. The average age of them had to be north of 65. Some were shuffling along drinking beer. Many were walking along with their faces in their mobile phones (absolutely true of the few teens who appeared to be drug along by their parents). Others were carrying their slogan laden signs about inequality, power to the people, etc. They were chatting with each other as they walked. I realized this is just something they did on a Saturday. If it wasn’t the yellow vest protest, there would be another they would find. “It’s Saturday. Let’s go march somewhere.”

There were a couple of gays, but gays in Paris don’t have much to protest. Accordingly, their presence was limited and I couldn’t figure out what they were mad about.

Then there were the feminists, walking behind a big purple banner. There was some kind of world feminist conference going on in Paris and a group of them decided to march with the yellow vests. Think of every negative stereotype you have ever heard about the physical appearance of feminists. Then give every one of them grey hair and wrinkles. You’ve got the feminists protesting. These looked like old, angry, bitter, sour, unhappy, women who never had a satisfactory relationship with a man their entire lives.

Finally, there were the communists. They didn’t wear yellow vests. They wore red vests. They carried their Che signs and hammer and sickle signs. All of them were grey bearded. They were the most geriatric group of protesters there.

I realize, some younger, fitter, anarchists could jump in and use the protest as a springboard, but the group I saw (probably 300 or so) were so pathetic, the whole event was comedic. No way would these yellow vests last 30 seconds against the police force I observed ringing them.

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