|
Post by bjd on Nov 18, 2018 7:14:09 GMT
Well,no, I don't think so. The main thing is that it was social-media instigated and not led by either political parties or trade unions, as is the usual case in France. It posed a bit of a quandary for the leftist parties, who talk about ecology and their defence of it but also wanted to be seen as supporting the people out demonstrating against price hikes on diesel fuel, which pollutes more than regular gasoline. Support by the right was just part of their opposition to the government. Very few of the blocking points had been authorized and the troubles were mostly at the unauthorized ones, like where a demonstrator was killed by a woman trying to drive her daughter to the doctor and the demonstrator began to yell and rock her car, causing her to panic and drive through.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Nov 18, 2018 7:25:31 GMT
I was listening to François Ruffin this morning (radical left parliamentarian) bragging about the roads being empty in the Somme yesterday due to the blockages as he rode around on his motorcycle. I think he missed the party training session about ecology. Basically, the leftist parties heaped ridicule on themselves with this event because they all supported the ecological tax until it morphed into an anti-Macron operation. I can't wait to see what they'll do the next time there is a debate about ecology.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Nov 18, 2018 15:24:09 GMT
Thanks, Bjd & Kerouac. After seeing the news stories about the demonstrations, I wound up with the impression that it was more about disgruntlement with price hikes, plus some adventitious political grandstanding. You all have corroborated & expanded on that. Admittedly, I felt some sympathy for the demonstrator who said that the govt encouraged people to buy diesel cars and is now penalizing them for it. It appears, though, that those owners will get some kind of help if they change cars. I do feel dreadful for that poor woman who panicked and wound up killing someone.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Nov 18, 2018 15:39:10 GMT
I think that everywhere in the world, local political issues are far more complicated than the foreign press is capable of reporting. For example, a lot of the people yesterday were not really motivated by the fuel tax issue but by the decline of services in rural areas (post offices closing, hospitals closing, tax offices closing...). Obviously, to maintain these services would require raising taxes in most places whereas most of the other protesters want taxes to be reduced. It is indeed a case of general disgruntlement and the continued unfortunate belief that a magic wand is all it takes to fix things.
|
|