They have the ‘destroy stuff’ thing figured out all right. When it comes down to actually getting any of their demands addressed it’s not as good. I don’t remember the last time when French riots ended with any concessions from the government.
Are you being sarcastic or ignorant? I legitimately can’t tell. I’m low on time so I’ll only cover recent events:
2025: then PM Bayrou proposed massive budget cuts to pensions, welfare, and cutting 2 holidays for the sake of “productivity”. Massive uprisings across the country “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything), government collapsed.
2024: Tractor blockades around Paris (“Siege of Paris”) and across the country forced the government to drop the planned phase-out of the diesel fuel tax break, provide €400 million in emergency aid and announce other concessions.
2018-19: the “Gilets jaunes” riots, weeks of protests including violence on the Champs-Élysées, caused by Macron’s pro-wealthy politicies (abolishing the “solidarity wealth tax” that applied to millionaires, or the “exit tax” letting them run away with their fortunes to tax havens, and several more), earning the nickname “Président des riches”. The riots forced an increase in minimum wages, scrapping of a fuel tax that would disproportionately tax the poor, tax relief for pensioners and other tax cuts that directly improved low-income families, etc.
You can go back and keep finding more and more examples of situations where ACTUALLY FIGHTING for your rights caused the money grabbing elite to actually stop in their tracks - for a while.
France knows how to protest.
They have the ‘destroy stuff’ thing figured out all right. When it comes down to actually getting any of their demands addressed it’s not as good. I don’t remember the last time when French riots ended with any concessions from the government.
Are you being sarcastic or ignorant? I legitimately can’t tell. I’m low on time so I’ll only cover recent events:
2025: then PM Bayrou proposed massive budget cuts to pensions, welfare, and cutting 2 holidays for the sake of “productivity”. Massive uprisings across the country “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything), government collapsed.
2024: Tractor blockades around Paris (“Siege of Paris”) and across the country forced the government to drop the planned phase-out of the diesel fuel tax break, provide €400 million in emergency aid and announce other concessions.
2018-19: the “Gilets jaunes” riots, weeks of protests including violence on the Champs-Élysées, caused by Macron’s pro-wealthy politicies (abolishing the “solidarity wealth tax” that applied to millionaires, or the “exit tax” letting them run away with their fortunes to tax havens, and several more), earning the nickname “Président des riches”. The riots forced an increase in minimum wages, scrapping of a fuel tax that would disproportionately tax the poor, tax relief for pensioners and other tax cuts that directly improved low-income families, etc.
You can go back and keep finding more and more examples of situations where ACTUALLY FIGHTING for your rights caused the money grabbing elite to actually stop in their tracks - for a while.