[MarMema]

Who is protesting? "The white middle class, the forgotten middle class in France," said Famke Krumbmüller, an expert in French politics at OpenCitiz political consultancy firm in Paris. Krumbmüller said the people protesting were those who pay the high French taxes and social charges — which cover benefits such as the state pension and unemployment insurance — but feel they get little in return because they are not the poorest in society."They're fed up with the rising prices and the cost of living," she explained. "They feel like the political elite is forgetting about them."

We tell them our concerns and we elect them, then when they get into power they seem astonished when we come out on the streets like today to protest. It’s as if the protests have just fallen from the sky, when we’ve already told them how we feel. Above all, President Macron has not listened to the ordinary French and doesn’t understand the concerns of their daily lives. When he appears on television we have the impression he is uncomfortable with normal people, that there is a certain contempt for us. I didn’t vote for him. I haven’t voted for a while. When I did, I would describe myself as moderate right, centre right.

Many, many yellow vests are decent, frustrated, suffering people. They no longer believe that any of the mainstream political movements – or even Marine Le Pen’s Far Right or Jean-Luc Mélenchon Hard Left – will do anything to help them. They talk of a new “movement of the people and for the people” but have declined so far to choose recognised leaders or to put forward a united programme.

[MarMema]

See my links in number ten.

[MarMema]

ping to links in number 10.