Macron at a crossroads with rising riots and protests over gasoline and nuclear

[jose chalhoub + 388]

In recent days, President Macron of France has had to face interesting though critical unrests from both the consumers of gasoline and at the same time from workers of TOTAL refineries and where the nuclear energy also is at the center of the debate, all these issues coming at a bad moment for Macron presidency and where the EU main axis of Berlin and Paris is under important stress with Merkel leaving power soon. 

Altogether this represents a crucial debate over the fact if France definitely will have to shut its nuclear plants and tilt towards other types of energy sources in the wake of the expansion of EV's and renewables in Europe and with the collateral issue of RENAULT corruption by its former CEO Carlos Ghosn now rejected and possibly going to jail. Interesting times for Macron and France which in the end would put the country more at the mercy of russian gas exports and with an EU every time more debilitated. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Excerpt from my comment earlier this morning about Canada's Trudeau.  I view Macron and Trudeau as pretty much 2 peas in the same pod.

But Trudeau very actively wants to shut down Canada's oil industry.  Completely.

It is a deliberate, long term plan.  Trudeau is exceedingly bad news as a Globalist + Socialist + Environmental Extremist + Totalitarian who is trying to impose his world view onto the citizens of his country via legislation.

Trudeau reminds me a lot of France's Macron.

Anyway...

No-oil plan for Alberta is working, just a little early

[NickW + 2,714]

2 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Excerpt from my comment earlier this morning about Canada's Trudeau.  I view Macron and Trudeau as pretty much 2 peas in the same pod.

But Trudeau very actively wants to shut down Canada's oil industry.  Completely.

It is a deliberate, long term plan.  Trudeau is exceedingly bad news as a Globalist + Socialist + Environmental Extremist + Totalitarian who is trying to impose his world view onto the citizens of his country via legislation.

Trudeau reminds me a lot of France's Macron.

Anyway...

No-oil plan for Alberta is working, just a little early

On the Brexit front Macron has been one of the those most pathologically opposed to the UK leaving on reasonable terms. Ironic really given that De Gaulle did so much to prevent the UK joining the EEC (when it was actually a free trade association) 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

I would suggest you take 3 minutes to view the video in the link.  Ignore the text of the article, just watch the video. 

There is far more going on here than just protesting Macron's increased taxes on hydrocarbons.  The taxes seem to only be the final straw to Macron's enforced globalization, enforced socialism, enforced economic migration, enforced taxes on oil & gas, etc. 

Canada, I hope you are paying attention to the backlash by local French citizens who are totally fed up with Macron's dictates. Because Trudeau seems to be following in Macron's footsteps.

“There are whole parts of the city that I’ve been warned not to enter”: An American shocked by the REAL Paris

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

3 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

There is far more going on here than just protesting Macron's increased taxes on hydrocarbons.  The taxes seem to only be the final straw to Macron's enforced globalization, enforced socialism, enforced economic migration, enforced taxes on oil & gas, etc.

France's Meltdown, Macron's Disdain

"The French say, 'Mr. President, we cannot make ends meet,' and the President replies, 'we shall create a High Council [for the climate]'. Can you imagine the disconnect?" -- Laurence Saillet, spokesman for the center-right party, The Republicans, November 27, 2018

... Another area in which Macron has acted relentlessly is the "fight about climate change", in which his targeted enemy are cars. On vehicles over four years old, mandatory technical controls were made more costly and failure to comply with them more punitive, evidently in the hope that an increasing number of older cars could be eliminated. Speed limits on most roads were lowered to 80 km/h (50 mph), speed control radars multipled, and tens of thousands of drivers' licenses were suspended. Gas taxes rose sharply (30 cents a gallon in one year). A gallon of unleaded gas in France now costs more than $7.

The small minority of French people who still support Macron are not affected by these measures. Surveys show that they belong to the wealthy layers of society, that they live in affluent neighborhoods, and almost never use personal vehicles. The situation is painfully different for most other individuals, especially the forgotten middle class.

A recent decision to increase gas taxes was the final straw. It sparked instant anger. A petition demanding that the government roll back the tax increase received almost a million signatures in two days. On social networks, people discussed organizing demonstrations throughout the country and suggested that the demonstrators wear the yellow safety jackets that drivers are obliged to store in their cars in case of roadside breakdowns. So, on November 17, hundreds of thousands of protesters blocked large parts of the country.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

4 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

There is far more going on here than just protesting Macron's increased taxes on hydrocarbons. 

Comment I saw on a different forum:

They want their country back. They aren’t just rioting over gas. They’re rioting the immigration. They made it illegal to oppose immigration in ANY way. They have taken sovereignty of the countries in Europe and the ppl want it back.

[Illurion + 894]

I generally keep my opinions to myself in regard to what is happening in Europe.

With that said,  here is my opinion as to what is happening in France.

A long time ago,  i was born in what was then called "French Morocco."

................

That was then,  and this is now.

Morocco is no longer controlled by the French.

And lately,   EVEN FRANCE ITSELF IS NO LONGER CONTROLLED BY THE FRENCH.

.................

Europe,  and France in particular,  are perfect examples of what happens when "GLOBALISM" goes crazy and takes over a country.

The French people have always run an "open" society,  welcoming in various "individual refugees" from abroad.

BUT,  theses "refugees" were always "few" in number,  and generally well educated.

AND,  it was always understood that these newcomers would "ADAPT TO FRENCH WAYS."

Indeed,  in the 1990's,  the French even went so far as to "mandate in law,  that all children born in France had to be named one of a list of "approved French names."

..................

That was then,  and this is now.

THE NUMBER ONE NAME OF BOYS CURRENTLY BORN IN FRANCE IS "MOHAMMED."

..................

And that fact,  is at the core of what has gone wrong in France.

..................

France was once a pleasant, law-abiding, Christian country.

That is no longer the case.

Massive numbers of Muslim refugees,  mostly un-educated,  and un-skilled,  have invaded France with the help of the Socialist, Globalist French Government.

These Muslim refugees have taken over large sections of practically EVERY MAJOR FRENCH CITY,  and many small towns.

These Muslim enclaves are all now referred to as "NO-GO ZONES",  

Even the French police are afraid to go there.

...................

These Muslim refugees mostly do not work,  and do not want to work,  but,  rather sit at home and collect welcare payments from the State.

And they vote.

And their vote has now reached the point where they "outvote the native French citizens."

....................

And that is the core reason for what is happening in France.

The native French people are being dominated, and ignored by their own government,  which is now run by Globalists.

France is no longer a Christian country.

The native French are unhappy, disenfranchised.

...................

In conclusion,   it is my opinion that the native French population have had enough,  and they are fighting back.

Make no mistake,  these "GAS TAX RIOTS"  are not only about gasoline.

If the current Socialist / Globalist government is not voted out in the next Presidential election,  there will be an armed revolution in France.

I do not know who will win.

 

Edited December 2, 2018 by Illurion

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

11 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Comment I saw on a different forum:

They want their country back. They aren’t just rioting over gas. They’re rioting the immigration. They made it illegal to oppose immigration in ANY way. They have taken sovereignty of the countries in Europe and the ppl want it back.

Complacency and ignorance.

First, Complacency.  From a search on Google and then DuckDuckGo:

Google.

DuckDuckGo.

Interesting?  Why does Google go with the more critical definition as the first highlighted result?  I'm sure they don't have real people making that decision day in and day out.  So, why?  Is there an algo that goes with the more negative version?

Anyway, going with the second (DuckDuckGo) definition, I'll get on with a point that seems relevant to me when it comes to the immigration issues we've all had to start coming to grips with in recent times.

My feeling is that most Americans were (past tense) complacent about their government when it came to issues such as immigration.  That was due to many reasons, not the least of which being that we all acknowledge we are a nation of immigrants (Sorry American Indians; as usual we'll have to discuss what we did to you another day).  But most importantly, it was because we were complacent and believed that the government's laws on immigration hadn't changed all that much over the years and they were doing a pretty good job of screening and admitting basically good, honest, hardworking or, in cases where it was warranted, persecuted, people into the country to realize the American Dream, as it were.

I believe that most American people thought (past tense) of their nation's immigration policies as being pretty darn fair, if not downright sympathetic and lenient.  Interestingly, Google and the Duck (I can't be bothered to type "duckduckgo" every time, which unfortunately helps Google win that war for my search efforts) came up with the exact same results for "lenient".

That brings us to Ignorance.  Let's go with Wikipedia this time for the (American) definition:

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge. The word ignorant is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, and can describe individuals who deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts, or individuals who are unaware of important information or facts. Wikipedia

Put people's complacency together with their ignorance as to what our political leaders were in fact changing about our immigration laws, or at the very least were changing with regards to the application and enforcement of our existing immigration laws, and you have the recipe for calamity that we are dealing with today.

Now, we are all playing catch-up. 

The problem is this issue involves the lives of millions of people and fast action is necessary, or so we are told.  Politicians, without taking responsibility for the changes to our nation's immigration "policies", now tell us that we have to accept their mass solutions and let these people in by the millions or else we are bad humans.  Most good people don't respect others who don't take responsibility for their actions, and they sure don't like the implication that somehow they have become bad humans because of the first group's mishandling or manipulation of policies they thought were being fairly carried out.  Being human, and assuming the basic goodness of humans in general, we all want to do what is right.  That starts in our homes with our direct families and then spreads out from there.  People who feel that they are already struggling will push back at anyone trying to force what they perceive to be more hardship down their throats.  And the issue of accepting mass immigration affects just about every facet of the lives of the people in the receiving country (much good, much bad).

Therefore, if our governments wish to get our support, they have an incumbent responsibility to inform the current citizenry of the issues and costs, and then lay out a plan to handle the integration of these new arrivals into society.  One of the first and foremost requirements of any such plan is that the new arrivals agree, and yes even swear under oath (remember, our society requires such norms), that they will make every effort to assimilate into our culture while (secondarily) sharing the cultures of the countries they have come from.  Maybe then we can hope to effectively handle the challenge; not before.

Anyway, that's just my opinion and I'm sure others will have differing points of view.  

[Illurion + 894]

14 minutes ago, Dan Warnick said:

 

My feeling is that most Americans were (past tense) complacent about their government when it came to issues such as immigration. 

But most importantly, it was because we were complacent and believed that the government's laws on immigration hadn't changed all that much over the years and they were doing a pretty good job of screening and admitting basically good, honest, hardworking or, in cases where it was warranted, persecuted, people into the country to realize the American Dream, as it were.

I believe that most American people thought (past tense) of their nation's immigration policies as being pretty darn fair, if not downright sympathetic and lenient. 

I agree with you 100%.

I believe here in the States,   the people have awakened from their slumber in time to do something about the out-of-control immigration problem.   

I believe the French are too late to save their nation.

The Germans too.

sad.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Illurion

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

5 minutes ago, Illurion said:

I believe here in the States,   the people have awakened from their slumber in time to do something about the out-of-control immigration problem.   

Agreed.

6 minutes ago, Illurion said:

I believe the French are too late to save their nation.

Reluctantly agreed.  Hopefully I will be proven wrong.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Pics and vids.  

https://twitter.com/InfosFrancaises

Is that a petrol station that is getting firebombed?

 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

The second video at the link you provided shows the burning car being dropped on what looks like a toll road payment kiosk, or maybe a bank?

Anybody understand French on here?

Edited December 2, 2018 by Dan Warnick

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

Right click and Translate to English.  Lots of good information in those comments.  Interesting video further down the page:

 

[Boat + 1,323]

Here is another perspective. Big government supported by business loved that huge supply of cheap workers. We need economic growth, GDP growth, lower wages per hr with few services to compete with the world. Legal or illegal just pack me in.

Smoke and mirrors is the latest hate games sideshow. If we were to follow the rule of law we could easily punish those that hire any illegal and poof around 11 million would be without a livelihood. No wall needed. 

All those hundreds of thousands of green cards for college students that stay could be easily told to find another country for education. 

Blaming the immigrants for the infrastructure to invite them is silly.

[John Foote + 1,135]

1 hour ago, Boat said:

Smoke and mirrors is the latest hate games sideshow. If we were to follow the rule of law we could easily punish those that hire any illegal and poof around 11 million would be without a livelihood. No wall needed. 

Said that for years. Go after the employers. They don't hire illegals, most of them illegal and undocumented leave. They didn't come for the free National Health system we don't have. Implement a national ID system. We don't really have a voter fraud issue, but we certainly have worker fraud. Everyone should have one. Without it you can't even have a phone. Clearly there are always work arounds in the black market, but immigrant situation would be far different if we seriously enforced at the employer level. The wall needed is economics, not physical. And the enforcement needs to be within our borders, not at them.

And personally, most the immigrants I've met are strong contributors to the economy, and society in general. Vet who comes well, but encourage the attributes we need. I want you eager to work, eager to learn people. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Macron's days as PM appear to be numbered.

https://twitter.com/BreakingNLive/status/1069340718844522496

BREAKING: WATCH: Paris: A group of French police officers remove their helmets to show solidarity with the French people against President Emmanuel Macron, as anti Macron protests continue throughout France.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

French protesters seem a bit ... upset at Macron.

 

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

13 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Comment I saw on a different forum:

They want their country back. They aren’t just rioting over gas. They’re rioting the immigration. They made it illegal to oppose immigration in ANY way. They have taken sovereignty of the countries in Europe and the ppl want it back.

It seems that your analysis is distorted by your own agenda. The Yellow Jackets are not protesting against immigration or the EU. They are protesting against the worsening economic conditions in peripheral France. On one side the big cities are attracting the wealth and the jobs. On the other side the deindustrialised regions, rural areas, small and medium-size towns are less and less dynamic.

It is better explained in this article from the Guardian :

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/02/france-is-deeply-fractured-gilets-jeunes-just-a-symptom

I've checked the long list of claim of the protesters but found no mention of anti-EU claims. And when they mentioned migrants the claims were the following :

• That the causes of forced migration are treated.
• That asylum seekers be treated well. We owe them housing, security, food and education for the miners. Work with the UN to have host camps open in many countries around the world, pending the outcome of the asylum application.
• That the unsuccessful asylum seekers be returned to their country of origin.
• That a real integration policy is implemented. Living in France means becoming French (French language course, History of France course and civic education course with certification at the end of the course).

They are not opposing migrants but are rather asking for a better treatment for asylum seekers and an improved integration policy.

But the main claims are economic claims :

• Zero homeless: URGENT.
• More progressive income tax (more slices).
• Minimum wage at 1300 euros net.
• Favor the small shops in villages and downtown. (Stop the construction of large commercial areas around major cities that kill the small business) + free parking in city centers.
• Large Housing Isolation Plan. (make ecology by saving households).
• That big companies (Macdo, Google, Amazon, Carrefour ...) pay BIG and that the small (artisans, TPE PME) pay small.
• Same social security system for everyone (including artisans and self-entrepreneurs). End of the RSI.
• The pension system must remain in solidarity and therefore socialized. (No point of retirement).
• End of the tax hike on fuel.
• No retirement below 1,200 euros.
• ...

You can check the full list (in French) here : https://www.cnews.fr/france/2018-12-01/la-liste-des-revendications-des-gilets-jaunes-801586

 

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

13 hours ago, Illurion said:

THE NUMBER ONE NAME OF BOYS CURRENTLY BORN IN FRANCE IS "MOHAMMED."

 

Fake news !

The number one name in 2017 was Gabriel. Mohamed was only in 20th position.

Here is the list :

 

1. Gabriel

2. Raphaël

3. Jules

4. Léo

5. Lucas

6. Adam

7. Louis

8. Liam

9. Ethan

10. Hugo

11. Arthur

12. Paul

13. Maël

14. Nathan

15. Nolan

16. Sacha

17. Gabin

18. Timéo

19. Théo

20. Mohamed 

 

http://www.ici-c-nancy.fr/shopping/puericulture/item/13297-les-prenoms-les-plus-populaires-en-france-en-2017.html

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

50 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

French protesters seem a bit ... upset at Macron.

 

 

Kind of a rough way to meet your doom, don't you think?  

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

12 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Pics and vids.  

https://twitter.com/InfosFrancaises

Is that a petrol station that is getting firebombed?

 

It's an highway toll kiosk in Narbonne.

In France on most highways you get a ticket when you enter the highway and then you have to pay when you leave it.

2000km of highways are directly managed by the public administration but the remaining 9000km are managed by private companies (usually the construction companies having built the infrastructure). The highways belong to the state but  private companies  have a 20 or 30 years concession allowing them to charge the vehicles traveling on the highway. The private companies have to pay for the maintenance work on the highways but the amounts of money they earn with the tolls is way higher that the cost of the maintenance. Despite the huge benefits generated (the tolls have already covered more than the highways construction costs) the companies frequently rise the prices angering the users. This can perhaps explain why they attacked this toll kiosk in Narbonne.

One of the claims on the Yellow jackets claim list is :

• All the money earned by highway tolls will be used to maintain highways and roads in France and road safety.

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

50 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said:

Kind of a rough way to meet your doom, don't you think?  

Capital punishment in France (French: peine de mort en France) is banned by Article 66-1 of the Constitution of the French Republic, voted as a constitutional amendment by the Congress of the French Parliament on 19 February 2007 and simply stating "No one can be sentenced to death" (French: Nul ne peut être condamné à mort). The death penalty was already declared illegal on 9 October 1981 when President François Mitterrand signed a law prohibiting the judicial system from using it and commuting the sentences of the six people on death row to life imprisonment. The last execution took place by guillotine, being the main legal method since the French Revolution; Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian citizen convicted of torture and murder on French soil, who was put to death in September 1977 in Marseille.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

13 hours ago, Illurion said:

 

I believe here in the States,   the people have awakened from their slumber in time to do something about the out-of-control immigration problem.   

I believe the French are too late to save their nation.

The Germans too.

sad.

I regret to say that I completely disagree with you and your conclusions.  Here:s why:

1.   The USA currently has a net reproduction rate  ("the fecundity rate") well be low re-population levels.  If there were zero immigrants, the US population would continue to shrink. Now, you can argue that the USA population "should" be lower, even much lower, but that is another policy debate for another time.  The immediate effect of a lowered fecundity rate is the Japanese Problem, where there are insufficient young people to continue the society as it was previously structured, and most ominously, a greying of the society with a huge overhand of persons who are quite elderly and place a large burden upon society for heathcare and financial support. 

2.   The USA is reported to have 11 million "undocumented aliens," presumably mostly Spanish-speaking, who are treated in the popular press as being a burden.  So there ist his populist movement to go round them up into internment camps and eventually kick them out.  OK, so you go do that.  Then what?  Remember that those 11 million also consume millions of housing units, which now instantly become vacant and unrentable.  The value of housing collapses, and housing starts disappear.  That is the end of the entire construction industry, and that result would have formidable consequences.  I shudder to think of them. 

3.  The USA probably has another 11 million undocumented Canadians. Those folks blend in, they speak the same English with muchthe same accent, so they go ignored.  Nobody hassles the Canadian migrants.  They are undocumented.  If you also kick them out, now you are up to 22 million being expelled, and that is a serious hit to the housing market.  You want to think long and hard before you go running offf full tilt doing expulsions. 

4.   Those migrants, typically economic migrants, have phony papers, of course.  There is a whole industry of forgers out there that go provide false documents to try to fool the casual lookers:  town policemen, librarians, landlords, employers, everyone outside the Security apparata. Those phony papers have phony numbers, and thus the working migrants are paying into the tax and social security systems and will never reap any benefits.   Indeed, it is argued that without the gratis contributions of the undocumented workers, social security would have collapsed already.  So again you want to think long and hard about draconian measures. 

5.   The US immigration bureaucracy has always been a shambles.  You have these situations of the Vietnamese that worked for the US Army who got abandoned and left behind to ge slaughtered by the Cong.  And you have the Boat People that were set adrift into the South China Sea, tobe murdered, the women hauled off for gang-rape, all because the USA refused to pick them up and take them in.  The ones that made the crossing ended up in internment camps in places like the Philippines, not exactly the USA now is it?  Any Americans out there that are ashamed of this sordid past? If not, you should be. 

6.   And today you have these translator fellows who are marked for death by the Taliban or the Shiites who worked for the USA, and they and their families are left abandoned to rot and face torture and execution by the fanatics. Sense of shame, anybody? 

The whole migration picture is more nuanced than the press makes it out to be.  The USA is no prize in sorting out that bureaucracy. 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

13 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Capital punishment in France (French: peine de mort en France) is banned by Article 66-1 of the Constitution of the French Republic, voted as a constitutional amendment by the Congress of the French Parliament on 19 February 2007 and simply stating "No one can be sentenced to death" (French: Nul ne peut être condamné à mort). The death penalty was already declared illegal on 9 October 1981 when President François Mitterrand signed a law prohibiting the judicial system from using it and commuting the sentences of the six people on death row to life imprisonment. The last execution took place by guillotine, being the main legal method since the French Revolution; Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian citizen convicted of torture and murder on French soil, who was put to death in September 1977 in Marseille.

And here I was thinking the French had actually evolved past the guillotine to the firing squad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0niEZsahtEo

Mother France's contributions to civilization, I suppose. 

[Guillaume Albasini + 851]

1 hour ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Macron's days as PM appear to be numbered.

https://twitter.com/BreakingNLive/status/1069340718844522496

BREAKING: WATCH: Paris: A group of French police officers remove their helmets to show solidarity with the French people against President Emmanuel Macron, as anti Macron protests continue throughout France.

I'm usually a bit suspicious of the news beginning with "breaking" in capital letters. They often smell like fake news forged by the alt right community. So I've double checked this one.

In fact these police officers removed the helmets at the request of the Yellow jackets demonstrators as a sign of appeasement during a tense confrontation in front of the Pau city hall, while the demonstrators were singing the national anthem. Then someone throw an egg to the police officers and the helmets were back.

You can see the whole sequence in the video at the end of this french article :

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/societe/en-images-pau-gilets-jaunes-et-forces-de-l-ordre-face-a-face-1543704824

 

And by the way, Macron is president and not PM. Macron's prime minister is Edouard Philippe.