User Stories On The YellowVest Protests in France - @algo.coder
Yesterday I asked the Steem Community who we have on the ground in France to report to us what is happening in France without having to filter out the BS of Mainstream Media.
Among other responses that I received the following in-depth comment from @algo.coder he presents his opinion clearly as an opinion. I am pasting it with his consent, as is with no edits and will make him the beneficiary of the post.
algo.coder (56) in busy • 7 hours ago
Hi @whatsup, I'm French (I live in Lille if you wanna check on Google Maps). I don't write anything on my blog (as I'm more of a developement-oriented guy), but for you (as I'm following you and reading your every post) I will make an exception (here in the comments, not in a real blog post).
To be fully transparent, before giving my interpretation of this reality, I must say some people would define me as someone prone to like "conspiracy theories".
Genesis of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Jackets)
That's the first strange thing. It came out of nowhere and almost overnight. I believe in the strength of social networks, but such spontaneity and fast organization seems a bit conspicuous to someone like myself.
Media Treatment
Since the beginning of this, media has been promoting this movement. You can not know it, you can not evade it. It's everywhere. As medias here (as almost everywhere) are owned by big companies, it would be a bit strange to promote a "social rights" movement since its start to make sure the maximum number of people adhere to it.
The People
Now let's take a look at the kind of people joining this movement. There are mainly working people, with low wages, and no political education. They want more on their pay sheets, they don't care about politics, they don't know the first thing about the monetary system, they're (in their vast majority) easily suggestible people, with no notion of History. For me, it's like they're the soldiers executing a plan made by people with brains. All I'm saying can seem violent, but please know that I'm unemployed, poor and would have almost every reason to join them. But unfortunately I'm also too educated to not see the evident manipulation behind all this.
The Scheme
Now is the time for some conjectures. Here is my personal opinion about why this movement exists and what are the real goals of people who created it and made it grow. I will say what I think in chronological order.
Goverment will fall (February 2019),
New political movement will emerge (February / March 2019) representing these Yellow Jackets. The program will be, in one word : DECENTRALIZATION.
Elections will take place (April / May 2019) and this movement will be elected. Regions (like States in the US) will have much more power, the State (federal entity) will lose a lot. Making France a federal state de facto.
For the more global analysis
France has a lot of inequalities between its regions (in terms of employment, resources, etc.), so from now on, regions will be put into competition between themselves, the goal being to destroy the Nation and that alliance between all People from a given territory.
Not long after that (some years), these regions will be more and more directly negociating with Bruxels (European Union), and the federal French government (that doesn't yet exist) will disappear little by little with his powers being transfered to regions and to EU.
For now more than 50 years, the building of the European Union has begun. But this building, in fact, means the destruction of all European Nations. This is just a new step in this direction. Transforming our centralized Nations into federal States, so that the integration with EU becomes easier.
So that's all for me, hope I was clear on my opinions (as English is not my native language). All this is pure speculation, but that's my analysis. Thanks for reading !
End _________________________________________
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your point of view @algo.coder as it is very worthy of consideration.
He has stated he will engage here in the comment section.
Other users also responded to my plea for information.
https://steempeak.com/news/@lukewearechange/v7jri6gl
https://steemit.com/news/@pele23/students-now-join-forces-with-yellow-vests
I am really interested to watch this story and see how it is progressing.
I wonder if the "people" have actually had enough of big government and taxation or if this is a tool to create more discord. Time will tell.
@whatsup,
I saw few cartoons and news about that crisis, but didn't focus so well due to the current crisis upon us!
Cheers~
Peter K. Vickers
1 hr
#FRANCE: From an anon.
"My wife is French & in France & said there is misunderstanding of the Yellow Vest movement. She said: "I am seeing a lot of wrong information, so I prefer to explain a bit better: It is not just the tax on fuel; it is mostly the Macron Govt cut the retirement paycheck for everybody (including my parents), and they increased gas and electric bills in all homes, all taxes increased (property taxes, habitation, city taxes, income taxes), and cut the taxes for the ultra rich (ISF). Macron does not care for the ecology. He did not increase gas tax to protect earth but to make more money. One of the best french environmental activists, Nicolas Hulot, was Ecology Minister under Macron but he resigned because it was impossible to do anything sincerely for the environment in the Macron government. Also, fuel was already over the equivalent of $5 per gallon with high taxes, and most people already drive very small cars. Increasing the tax is very regressive, hits the poor hardest. They cant get to work. Another approach to ending oil addiction is needed.
Altogether, it is ultimately class warfare."
"Macron gave huge tax breaks to the very richest and then tried to put the climate burden on the working class. So the working class are rioting. They're not protesting globalism, they're protesting oligarchy and the domination of the very wealthiest. We live under class warfare and we lay down and take it. Time for REAL CHANGE."
#Macron #Paris #YellowVest #FranceProtests #ParisProtests"
The person who posted that seems to be at least a bit educated, but please be sure 90% of the protesters don't even know what class warfare is. Nobody is syndicated anymore, nobody received any bit of political education or has a monetary understanding.
The movement is about taxes, whether it's on oil or anything else (the cut in the retirement paychecks was another tax increase). All taxes are going up because there's debt interests to pay, and it's going only one direction : up. But try to explain that to Yellow Vests and believe me I tried and spoke with a lot of them, they look at you like you're an extra-terrestrial. They want a bit more on their pay-checks, seeing Macron beheaded (french tradition) and that's all, they have no real grand idea or real revolutional spirit (changing the system, turning the pyramid upside down, etc.).
You can also hear a lot of them saying we need to lower unemployment insurance, as unemployed = lazy, that civil servants have too much privileges that need to be withdrawn, thats we're giving money to immigrants instead of helping the "local" poor people, etc. The classical divide and conquer. If the author of these words has really seen a convergence of the struggles and a real class warfare spirit in this movement, we just haven't seen the same people. I'm not saying there are no real revolutionary people in the movement, and that there are no really sincere people, I'm just saying they're a minority.
That's a year and a half now that Macron and its government are upping all the taxes for the middle / working class, and lowering them for the "1%", that's not the first "social rights" movement since the beginning of his mandate. Why is this one taking off ? Some say : "That's the drop that breaks the camel's back". But who really chose to give water to the camel ? Who brought him the canteen ? For me it's just a matter of planning by people behind it. All movements before this one had syndicates (politically educated people) behind them, so not an option. This one is spontaneous as the media loves to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. That only fact tells me that it's not.
People can't accept the destruction of their system (and their unity) by themselves, you need to push them into it. And little by little, my fear is already becoming reality, they're all talking about decision decentralization, making laws at a level nearer to the base... That's becoming official demands from the Yellow Jackets. Anyway, we don't have too long to wait, real powers in play will soon reveal themselves, and what will be gained from this "movement" will be the best way to judge its sincerity.
I really think people do it out of good will, but nowadays, manipulation is so easy it's not even fun.
It's very interesting to watch all this unfold... for me, it has a little bit of the feel of the "Occupy" movement here in the US; nobody entirely sure who was behind the evidently "leaderless" organization, yet the actual organization was far too smooth and well-connected to not have some serious resources behind it.
So perhaps what we're seeing here is yet another case of "Globalists vs. Nationalists" with the Yellow-vests merely being unwitting (albeit riled up) pawns in a much greater game. The notion of "The United States of Europe" was already being tossed around when I still lived over there... early 1980s, and before.
That's exactly the feeling I have. Too spontaneous to be true. And as everyone (medias, politicians) are always emphasizing the fact that the movement is "leaderless", "spontaneous", "citizen", this is suspect.
And yes, I think, like you said, it's a case of Globalists vs. Nationalists, with nationalists being used for the globalists' agenda unwittingly. But anyway, I think this will unfold soon and we will see what comes out of it. The results will speak for themselves.
And even if it starts organically. They will twist it into something they can use to pit people against each other.
But I did want to hear the story from real people who are there.
I have written twice about the Gilets Jaunes. The first article was refusing to support from the UK because I could see that there were unseen forces orchestrating the action.
However, my 2nd article, written today has had time and much discussion to call upon and takes a very different tack.
Please read:
https://steemit.com/news/@francesleader/no-brexit-giletsjaunes-eye-the-city-of-london?fbclid=iwar0iyfvme8iszgnnm5gy4ey8yqat_bzacvdscdfktebsfokt6ydunqln080
Nailed it! - great response - not many people seem to get this con yet but he certainly does...
It seems to me that what is expressed by the user may be true, it is something that we must take into consideration.
Hi, I can't be certain of anything.
What I said is purely speculation and my interpretation.
The only facts here are :
If I'm wrong, we have everything to gain from it (more social rights), so I will continue to support the movement (or should I say, the people that takes on their own time to fight in what they believe in) but I will always step back to think about what other people (especially the rulers) could gain from it.
It I'm right, we have much to lose, as with the fall of the Nation, everything will fall with it, and especially the social security system that is, in fact, what makes France such an united and powerful nation.
What you say makes sense to me.
You were one of the inspirations for my post today - thanks!
https://steemit.com/teamnz/@frot/thosethatknowmostlyshuttheirfaces-7fhh2z4mar
Thanks, you earned a follow that will stay (and someone that will read, might not interact every time, but we are all limited by time), even if you start posting only Level 5 shit, I'll learn to appreciate that too :D
All this made me realize (and I thank @whatsup for that) I shouldn't have stopped blogging. I will soon begin to post again, even if it's for 20 cts rewards and unfollows :D Only problem is that I'm the developer of Share2Steem and I wouldn't want my application to suffer from what I might say.
But I got my secret boot, the @emmanuel.macron account ! Might use that one instead :D
Classic - all that French goes right over my head - but yes do some 20 cent freak posts!
Yep, it is worthy of consideration and I why I want to hear from those who are there and experiencing it.
Dude what
SteemPress is great - thanks for inventing that.
You're welcome :) thanks for using it
I'm not a dude, and what?
Talking about the text itself from algo-coder. This whole conspiracy theory is like "whaaat the fuck"
While I used Steeve.app in order to set the beneficiary to the author of the comment. Somehow I failed and you will have to take my word all rewards will be transferred on payout!
Posted using Steeve, an AI-powered Steem interface
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