In France, there is a protest called the Yellow Vests Movement, or Gilet Jaunes, happening. According to an article in The Guardian, these protests begun on November 17, 2018 and are still occuring to this day. The protest originated with French divers and was planned due to the tax increase on diesel and petrol. The French protestors named it the Yellow Vest Movement because it is required by law that the French drivers carry yellow vests in their cars.
These protests have escalated to more than just French drivers, and many people have joined and added other grievances and demands to the movement, like calls to dissolve the National Assembly and hold reelections and to increase minimum wage.
According to an ABC news article, the French government said that the reason taxes on petrol and diesel increased was to “help slow climate change.”
French citizens believe that the president was only a president for the rich and that the policies being made were only created to benefit the rich.
These protests have been happening every week for over a year. The protests have become violent with thousands of people already injured, or, in some cases, even killed.
According to another article in The Guardian, the French president says that he recognizes their demands but does not want to give into the violent protesters.
I feel that the president should start listening to the citizens more as well as negotiating with their demands. If the citizens feel strongly enough that there is a problem with the government that they are willing to protest every week for two years, then I feel that the government has a duty to make some changes.
The president of France said that he did not want to give in. However, the streets of France are on fire with buildings being destroyed and things being set on fire. In addition, police and citizens are being harmed among other catastrophes. I feel that this means the government has become so corrupt and unethical that the citizens can no longer stand it. The citizens felt that the taxes were too high, that it was getting harder to survive, and that they were not getting any benefits despite the tax increase.
Although I do not believe that there was a need for violence or vandalism, I do believe in speaking out when you feel that something is wrong or unbearable. I think that it is unbelievable that French citizens have been protesting for over a year and that the government has refused to negotiate with the citizens in order to stop these protests.
In addition, I find it unbelievable that these protests have been going on for so long and that not many people outside of France know about them. In the news, we are told about several protests, wars, disease outbreaks, and more. Why is something as big as the Gilet Jaunes not being talked about in certain news channels like CNN or BBC?
We should be knowledgeable and educate ourselves about events occuring in the world because we’re all affected by it, whether we realize it or not.
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