Endless French labor protests: Yellow vests as a model

Famous Parisian suburbs, such as the Triumphal arch and the Champs Elysees were the scenes of several loud political protests against some laws and economic measures taken in recent weeks by the French government. The protests reverberated around the world, despite their local nature. This reflects the importance of the country where the protests took place. The involvement of important international powers in the crisis, including the United States, invited yet more international attention to it.

The ongoing protests are not the first in French history which is full of labor and student protests. Soon after the declaration of the fifth republic following approval of the 1958 constitution, famous Paris sites, such as the Triumphal arch and the Champs Elysees witnessed loud protests by the workers and the students. Some of the protests were even staged by naturalized French citizens, especially by Africans who lived in the southern suburbs of the French capital.

First, communicating vessels theory

The French Revolution of 1789 changed the course of history. France has been enjoying a special political standing since the middle ages. This political standing helped France export its political and economic culture to the rest of the world. Jean-Jacques Rousseau who formulated the Social Contract theory, for example, ended political patriarchy. Peoples around the world warmly welcomed his ideas about the position of rulers in political systems. A ruler, Rousseau said, is someone who manages the affairs of his country, not someone who should enslave his people.   

What happens in France always sends its reverberations around Europe. The contagion of the French Revolution spread quickly to Europe, ending the age of royal aristocracy across the continent. In the last few decades, the French students' riots of 1968 inspired student movements in the US; Spain; Italy, Japan. In recently days, the yellow vest protests led to the emergence of similar protest movements in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

Second, causes behind protests in France

The protests erupted in November 2018 for the following reasons:

Economic reasons

Economic factors stand behind most protests around the world. Most of the protests that erupted for economic reasons, such as the French Revolution, aimed to put an end to economic suffering. France suffers its own economic problems these days. Unemployment reached 13%. Unemployment is especially rampant in the suburbs of Paris which are full of migrants.

Strength of the left

The French Revolution opened the door for the emergence of the left which calls for the presence of state influence over economic affairs with the aiming of achieving social justice. The left was powerful throughout the history of France. In 1968, the left said reforms by then-president Charles de Gaulle overlooked the social rights of the workers and the students. The left staged the famous 1968 protests. It also organized the following protests:

May 1968 protests:

Students mounted their anger against the economic policies of the government, opening the door for the largest strike in French history.

November 2005 unrest:

This unrest forced the government to declare a state of national emergency for three months. The government of then-president Nicolas Sarkozy claimed that radical religious movements stood behind the protests. In doing this, the government tried to deflect attention from the real economic causes behind the unrest. The unrest broke out especially in the Paris suburbs where unemployment and poverty are rampant.

January 2005 strikes:

Labor unions in Paris organized several strikes in the French public sector. The strikes erupted against the background of

March 2006 strikes:

Large-scale youth protests erupted in Paris and other French cities against legislation that would have reduced the number of jobs available to youth. The protests led to the abolition of the legislation altogether.

November 2007:

Transport, service and energy workers decided to stage protests against a decision by then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy to reduce salaries.

September 2010:

The French government wanted to raise the retirement age to 62, instead of 60, to make up for the losses France sustained as a result of the economic crisis that hit it in 2008. Labor unions protested the decision.

October 2010:

The Truck Drivers Union staged a series of protests against a bid by the government to apply a new retirement system.

November 2013:

Truck drivers staged several protests against a desire by the government to impose new environment taxes. The government had to freeze the taxes.

Macron and labor strikes

French President Emmanuel Macron passed some neo-liberal economic policies in September 2017, using the euphoria that followed his election to president in May of the same year. The new policies gave employers more influence over the hiring and sacking of workers. These policies provoked the anger of labor unions. The railway workers decided to stage a three-month strike as of April of 2018. In November 2018, a new round of protests was staged against the desire of Macron's government to impose taxes on fossil fuel.

Yellow vests

The yellow vest movement emerged in the Spring of 2018 against the backdrop of the French president to impose new taxes on the consumption of fossil fuels. The French Traffic Law of 2008 makes it necessary for drivers to wear yellow vests. Below is a timeline of the protests:

·      The protests stated on social media.

·      First Saturday: Protests were organized on November 17. This day came to be known as the "First Saturday". The protests resulted in the death of a woman and the injury of hundreds of other people. The number of the protesters reached 290,000. French Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe said his government would not reverse its policies because of the protests.

·      Second Saturday: Protests re-erupted on Saturday, November 24. Policemen clashed with more than 100,000 demonstrators. The government tried to contain the crisis by suggesting dialogue. A meeting with one of the demonstrators was organized. Nevertheless, the meeting produced nothing.

·      Third Saturday: A new wave of protests was planned for December 1, 2018 on the Champs Elysees. The protests were accompanied by violence at the Triumphal Arch and other areas. This forced the government to take action to contain the crisis. Macron called for a meeting at the Elysee Palace on December 2. On December 3, the prime minister held a meeting with the heads of the political parties. On December 4, the government had to succumb to the demands of the demonstrators by suspending the application of the taxes for six months as of the beginning of 2019. But this did not please the demonstrators which caused the protests to move ahead. On December 5, the government had to abolish the taxes altogether.

·      Fourth Saturday, December 8: The protests erupted again in an attempt by the demonstrators to draw in more segments of the French society, such as the farmers. More than 90,000 policemen were deployed on the streets to contain the protests. The demonstrators upped their demands. They wanted Macron to step down. Around 481 people were arrested on that day.

Fourth, international reaction  

There has been massive international reaction to the protests in France. Some international powers tried to use the protests in order to impose specific ideas and policies. US President Donald Trump used the protests to prove his opposition to the Paris Climate Agreement right. Trump even called for getting rid of the agreement altogether. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took an ideological direction. He said the protests proved the failure of the Western democratic model in solving the problems of the European continent. Erdogan even criticized the way police treated the demonstrators. He also criticized the looting of commercial shops by the demonstrators, in his attempt to give the impression that Western societies are no more than a bunch of barbarians. Erdogan's comments seem to have aimed at settling old scores with France that plays host to the largest Armenian community and repeatedly criticizes human rights conditions in Turkey.

Nonetheless, some people refer to the presence of other reasons behind the protests that erupted in France. These reasons include:

·      War on terror tax

France has been heavily involved in the war on terrorism in the African Sahel region since 2012. The war has come at a cost for the French economy. France staged to military operations in 2012 and 2014 with the aim of preventing pro-al-Qaeda militias from controlling the Sahel region and threatening French interests. These operations affected the French economy negatively. This was why French decision-makers had to impose new taxes.

·      Complicated economic situation

Paris is unlike other European capitals. The suburbs of the French capital burst at the seams with legal and illegal immigrants from Africa and Asia. This raises the unemployment rate in France in general. The unemployment rate reached 13%, which is high by all European standards.

·      International interference

Some theories suppose the presence of American and Russian interference behind the protests. Washington opposes the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. Russia is also reportedly playing a role to encourage the protests through social media.

Nonetheless, these theories cannot be proved and they need a lot of work by French intelligence to be proved.

·      Eternal conflict

There has always been a conflict in France between the left and the right. This conflict has been in place since the French Revolution. The protests showed the enormity of influence the French left has on the labor unions.