December 5, 2019 in Paris, France. A people at war against the government. It's about pension cuts and an increase in capitalism.
My first thought was 'Don't mess with the French!' Then I did a search and found very little but this one which suggests that on the first day at least what was reported was not how things were. The initial protest about pensions, climate and everything else was not violent https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-really-happening-in-france/ Then I did another search and found this Going along with other videos it looked to me like the French police were more like thugs against the people. I had noticed during the year they were taking up a more and more violent position to the French people in the yellow vest riots. I also remember that after the 2011 UK riots May got advice from the US as to how to deal with them. Already then they were expecting them. The US advised May to buy water cannon .....and..to shoot anyone who even looked as if there was any possibility they would do looting or anything else. They are expecting more and more riots in the West due to the increasing bad standard of living with climate emergency and have been for years.. The hard right is very strong in France. That is where Generation Identarian was born..... so then I was thinking, Macron was elected to keep Le Penn out. At that time I heard people say Macron sure as hell better do something or it will be Le Penn next time. and Macron has not. so the real issue is a mixture of the Climate Emergency and the defunct economic system of neo liberalism capitalism. The people are angry because like people everywhere else they have lost out over the last 40 years and most especially since 2008. Many born do not even know a life of people fighting for rights....and now we have the climate emergency and who are these Neo Liberal Leaders wanting to pay for it - in France and elsewhere. Well not the people who are responsible for it and still making loads of money out of it. Oh No. They want the people who have been harmed by it and who have next to nothing to pay for it. I heard there was a chant in France something along the lines, Climate Emergency 11 years, my emergency end of the month. So there is nothing unusual going on in France. They are simply doing it in the way the French do it. The issue is the climate emergency and it being dealt with by the defunct neo liberals who believe they can get the most poor to pay for their destruction of the planet. If constructive help - and that has to be on socialist lines, does not come, then the unfortunate thing is that some of them are going to move to the far right believing the propaganda that the far right put out and so working for those who are causing the harm. I saw a very moving video from 'Scientists warning' last night. Moving because the guy who runs it is dealing with cancer and he put together his facing death with the world facing death. In it he gave evidence of the fossil fuel elite's full knowledge of the climate disaster they have been making a killing out of and their intent to find a way for them and theirs to survive. I cannot find it on my computer. It came out yesterday and I saw it on my tv but my computer cannot find it - even last night. Possibly it is because what I see on my tv is apparently arranged by a firm in Turkey but my computer not so????!!! any way that is what I would have liked to put in. The real problem is the climate emergency. Our world as we have known it is dead. Neo liberalism is dead apart from making a few more billion for those it always gave to. We need a different economic system to deal with this. One that recognises our ability to work together on things and acknowledging that we all have equal rights to contribute, to survive and for well being.
Macron is too busy laughing at Trump like the obnoxious French snob he is to do anything about the angry mobs destroying his capital city.
I like how you tried to blame the right for France's leftist policies in advancement of the "climate emergency" leading to complete chaos.
Ah, the capital of France is destroyed, yeah, right. The main reason for the demonstrations is a planned reform of pensions, and although details haven't been discussed yet, many people fear they will have to work til they're in their late 60s, has nothing to do with leftist politics; quite the opposite. The rioters gathered on the Place de la République and did what rioters do. Environmental activists from 'extinction rebellion' have added to the chaos and have immobilized around 3600 electric scooters arguing these things are a disaster for the environment. This is neither a war nor a destroyed capital city.
Both the right and the left destroyed France, each in their own way, all the presidents of France excepted De Gaulle were or are traitors.
Was listening to Timothy Snyder the other day. He says we can forget now about right and left, it is those who believe in facts or not that is the difference. I am sure I also heard Macron fancied himself as a De Gaulle.
That's rather laughable. Were De Gaulle around today, I don't think they would be in the same aisle. And if someone came around with all De Gaulle's beliefs and policies today, they would be decried by half of France as a Nazi.
Thanks for the information about De Gaulle. It could have been another President. I think it was in connection with their position on NATO
"Charles de Gaulle stopped the UK from entering the Common Market, now Macron won't let us leave" https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7422326/french-hostility-not-thwart-brexit/
Nah it wasn't the Sun propaganda. I am more of Snyder's position. That it is Europe's enemies who are trying to break up the EU. Europe's enemies being Russia, China and the US. Being that by breaking up Europe they weaken Europe and strengthen themselves. The UK had US interference in the Brexit vote on social media and funding and according to Snyder also Russian though I am not sure of that. US most certainly - though different thread needed.
Yes, many Europeans don't like capitalism. They think it's based entirely on greed and kills the poor. Socialism has left its mark. If you're quiet, you can hear Karl Marx laughing in hell.
The US is not a country that believes in free political viewpoint. It imprisoned/deported most of those with that point of view some decades ago.
But the US is not a totalitarian state. Freedom and democracy, unfortunately, bear the risk that dishonest guys can exploit it for their personal criminal needs if they come to power. So it's the task of the decent guys to track them down and correct their failures. Just look at the ongoing Donald impeachment process. BTW, European democracies have similar tools to defend themselves against abuse.
I didn't say it was - simply a state which does not believe in freedom of political view. That may be muted now, or there may be people confronting it but, and this was my point, one should not be surprised if American's find such views bizarre. They have grown up under a State which found such views criminal. I think this is just a little game show. When it gets to the house where the Republicans have the majority it will be thrown out. I also do not believe that Trump is to blame for everything that is going on in the US at the moment nor that Obama was in any way innocent. He set up many of the procedures which are now bering used to oppress Americans and procedures which Trump has put in place in the US justice system and not just the Supreme court will go on and on and on. I also believe the replacement to an impeached Trump, assuming that was Pence would be worse. This of course also is all off topic Do tell. I will say I am not sure where you are coming from.
I'll tell you, but first I would be interested if you take me for a native English speaker or not. You are from UK, right?
Yes. That is yes I come from the UK. No I would not expect you to be a native British speaker given you come from Germany but as I said I had given it no thought. What is the importance to you?
I'm a German citizen of Polish descent living in Germany (not far away from France). I embrace Western values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and capitalism. And I have a strong aversion to the totalitarianism of any kind.
So the frenchies want free **** and lower taxes, and can't figure out how the welfare state enriches the state and those closely associated with it. And our OP calls this capitalism despite the fact that its corporatism, not remotely resembling capitalism.
