While the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) protests actually began on 17.11.18, I think most are aware that frustration with the government has been building for many, many years. Sarkozy certainly played a big role in this. Deep-rooted contractions have been left unaddressed while offshore accounts were filled up. Without wanting to dedicate a lot of space to the details of each French government since the last massive riots in 1968, I think it is easier to proceed from the fact that France has been essentially occupied by America for decades. For me personally, this helps to explain a lot.
In Russia there is the word "народ". The closest translation of this into English is "nation", but actually it doesn't really convey the sense. We're talking about fraternal relations amongst peoples that are indistinguishable from kindred ones. And it's understandable why this concept doesn't exist in the West. Or at least, I've never seen it. When America landed on Omaha beach in 1944 it sure didn't have the best interests of France at heart. And the quick formation of NATO in 1949 testifies to this. America succeeded to create a loyal bloc in synchronisation with the USSR's withdrawal from Europe (by the way, talk about "Soviet occupation" is vulgar NATO propaganda). Normandy was bombarded by US aviation in an act of national subjugation. This is also psychological warfare.
After all, it's no coincidence that as of this very moment Japan - nuked by America - is the No. 1 most indebted country in the world. Africa is another story; the people were stripped of their identity and turned into automated plantation workers for the "civilised" West. This helps to explain why French TV broadcasts American movies, American series, American music, etc on a loop. Or at least until recently. I have noticed that there has been a slight reduction in the last year, but there is still predominance all the same. On TV there is a focus on violence. Children's cartoons consist of almost endless aggression. Everything is done to create lines of division and pit X against Y. This doesn't benefit France or Europe, but it does benefit the USA and its EU project. Why? Because how else can American... sorry... NATO military objects be planted on European soil and aimed at Russia? Most French people believe that the USA was a liberator in WW2, and that nuking Japan was justified. The TV reinforces these ideas also on a loop.
If you try to challenge someone who thinks such things, you will be on the receiving end of the 3 stages of denial. The creeping annexation of French sovereignty reached its peak in 1999, when the Euro (€) replaced the franc. The standard of living has worsened ever since. After this, French agricultural produce lost its place in its own country to Spanish agriculture (Spain is now an IMF slave), which is riddled with pesticides. As a result, French produce is now much more expensive. Fruits and Vegetables? Extortionate. Sadly, French produce is also a victim of Bayer/Monsanto (hence why the Yellow Vests recently attacked the HQ).
I will come back to this topic later, but I have given one early example of the consequences of US occupation. Has it brought anything good? In my opinion, no. Living became dependent on credit. Car adverts on TV infinitely promote debt and unaffordable lifestyles. Part of the parcel of US occupation is being dragged into violations of international law. France played a major role in bombing Yugoslavia and trafficking organs (Bernard Kouchner was heavily involved). It helped to carve the region up and illegally create Kosovo's "independence". France helped America invade Afghanistan (invading Iraq didn't receive enough public support) in Operation Enduring Freedom (nice name, haha). France (Sarkozy) helped America use Georgia as a battering ram against Russia. France was the ringleader in the evaporation of Libya. France helped arm terrorists in Iraq and feed Al Qaeda, which later resulted in the birth of ISIL/ISIS. France helped AFRICOM send weapons from Libya to Syria. France is permanently in Africa, helping the IMF pillage sovereign nations like Mali.
France helped Al Qaeda/ISIS in Sy-Raq unconditionally in the media space and with financing. France helped Riyadh send Yemen back to the Stone Age. France helps Israel massacre Palestinians. France (using Bernard-Henri Lévy as the middle man) helped America overthrow Yanukovych in Ukraine and unleash civil war.
France has consistently parroted America's anti-Russia propaganda on Skripal, MH-17, Crimea, Trump "collusion", etc. And now France helps America bring Venezuela to its knees. Does absolutely any of this benefit France or the French people? No? Then whom does it benefit? The IMF. NATO. Jacob Rothschild (I am "anti-semitic", yes). Apartheid Israel. Lockheed Martin. Raytheon. Boeing. Goldman Sachs. JP Morgan. Disney. Kelloggs. Qatar. Saudi Arabia. Banderists. Wall Street. Soros. Clinton. AMERICA.
Now with this important background information on the table, we will move on to the topic of the Yellow Vests. The initial spark of the protests is the El Khomri law, which essentially robbed employees of their rights. Read more about it here. And guess what? Yes, on March 15th the EU condemned this law. I.e., 18 weeks of protests could've been avoided long before this dumb globalist law was adopted. But nope - giving workers a fair exchange for their labour doesn't fill up offshores.
The next scandal that incensed people is the Benalla affair from July 2018. Summary: Macron's best buddy Alexandre Benalla (some say he's his boyfriend) violated the law and assaulted a May Day protestor. He then broke the law on diplomatic passports. This particular scandal is never-ending, and, predictably, no punishment has yet arrived. The media even tried to link it to Russia. However, when a Yellow Vest (boxer) acts in self-defence against over-aggressive riot police, he is instantly given a jail sentence.
The tipping point was Macron's 23% diesel fuel tax, which he wanted to implement at the very beginning of 2019. This resulted in 300,000+ protestors mobilising in November 2018 - also known as Act 1 of the Yellow Vests. The government did not respond and pretended nothing was happening.
Thus, Act 2 was called, which was even more violent. But again, no reaction from Macron followed. Act 3 happened, and then Macron bluffed - he claimed that the fuel tax hike would be postponed. Then a bit later he announced it had be fully scrapped (a ploy since in early 2019 he started to promote a "carbon tax"). It was only after act 4 that Macron did something. But all he did was increase the minimum wage by a measly €100. Ironically, it became the most-viewed political speech in France's history. The Yellow Vests collectively shook their heads and continued to protest.
Before Act 5 there was the Strasbourg "terrorist attack". I use inverted commas because I believe it was government orchestrated to try to end the protests. Macron let the perpetrator - who was known to police - walk around a free man BEFORE THE ATTACK when there were chances to detain him. He had also been detained multiple times before and had over 30 criminal offences on his account. An innocent "terrorist attack" it was not. Act 6 and 7 were pretty calm and by this point Macron felt like he had managed to quell the movement. Then there was the boxer scandal of Act 8, which the media milked dry.
After Act 9 Macron announced the start of the pathetic "grand debate", which ended up lasting 1 month. The aim? To buy time and hope that support for the Yellow Vests will drop. Propaganda TV channels were selling this "debate", which has now ended, as "a new stage of democracy". In reality, it was a re-run of Macron's electoral campaign and simultaneously his campaign for May's EU elections. A PR technology, or a monologue.
Act 10 took place relatively calmly. Then during Act 11 Macron's goons fired a "flashball" at the face of a prominent YV - Jérôme Rodrigues. All testimonies and proof show that it was a deliberate act. As a result, Jérôme lost the use of his right eye.
Act 12 was mostly about condemning police violence and was dedicated to Jérôme. Act 13 involved a Yellow Vest's hand being blown off by a grenade. The media never told people that these dispersal grenades are loaded with TNT. They never showed the footage, and referred to the incident as a "minor injury", even blaming the protestor for approaching the grenade.
Act 14 is when the Zionist rat Alain Finkielkraut was "greeted" by the Yellow Vests, after which the media started screaming "anti-semitism" non-stop. I couldn't watch the TV for days after this, the level of social engineering was vomit-inducing. In essence, every channel tried to say that all Yellow Vest protestors are supporters of the Holocaust.
Act 15 and 16 were different in the sense that the Yellow Vests decided to stop declaring their protests and instead did unsanctioned marches. Sadly, this tactic didn't have much success since the police set up wedges and managed to squeeze and paralyze the Yellow Vests. It started to resemble sheep being herded by the police in the streets.
Act 17 was supposed to be a 3-day sit-in in Paris. Sadly, on the Friday the police already thwarted the plans and prevented the creation of a tent camp under the Eiffel Tower. The march on the following Saturday was halted quite easily by the police (I was with the Yellow Vests when they were cornered by CRS).
This was actually a good thing because it made the Yellow Vests return to their roots, when they were most effective. It was understood that the format of protests had to change since it had become stale and easy for the police to stop. The initial plan for Act 18 was to encircle the Elysee Palace from 4 directions with mass mobilisation.
Now that I have done a basic chronology (I only mentioned the most important events, most of which happened in Paris), I will now answer some questions posed to me and then speak my mind about all of this.
Question: "How many people showed up for Act 18 in Paris?"
My answer: I don't know exactly, but it was similar to Acts 1 and 2, so at least 10,000. The Police syndicate says 290,000 protested across the country, while the propagandist Interior Ministry says 14,000 (haha). The riot police (CRS) stood no chance anyway, the Yellow Vests' anger was like an erupting volcano.
Question: "To your knowledge, did this occur in other French cities?"
My answer: It happens in all the major cities. Toulouse always has a big attendance, as does Nantes. There is the blocking of toll roads, roundabouts, airports, etc too.
Question: "Why is there almost zero coverage of this across all US news outlets?"
My answer: Because it exposes the "democracy" scam and makes "partners" like Ukraine sh*t their pants, since they realise that it is their throat that the Anglo-Saxons will cut next.
Question: "Do you experience any degree of organisation among protesters or is it still merely people gathering, walking around and going home again?"
My answer: There is central organisation, yes. The police try their best to set up traps, but the YV communicate all observations internally. I'll give an example: on the night of March 15th the police were patrolling all the highways that lead into Paris. So, a large communiqué was distributed among Yellow Vests informing what routes they are on and at what times. The same for the metro station closures.
Question: "Do you believe there are other groups among protesters who bring more violence into protests than there has been before? Or in other words, have protesters been infiltrated in order to discredit them?"
My answer: For Act 18 there was solidarity. But for the early acts the Yellow Vests weren't too comfortable with the "black block" being present, because they didn't want to be labelled by the media as demolishers/hooligans. But the Yellow Vests soon learnt that the media will demonise them if they are peaceful all the same, so it's better to not play Macron's game. There are times when the police have worn a Yellow Vest and pretended to be protesters. There are also plain-clothes cops walking around too. Also, there are cops who pretend to be "black block". So yes, there is infiltration. But nothing could stop what happened on the 16th. The picture below taken by the Reuters photographer is from March 16th (Act 18) in Paris - it shows an incognito cop wearing a Yellow Vest:
My answer: The media/entertainment brainwashing machine has done a lot of damage over the years. I'd say for every 3 people there is 1 supporter. This is still good considering the circumstances - non-stop demonization on the TV.
Question: "Are law enforcement, police & institutions follow or is there dissent also among them?"
The Yellow Vests are rather perplexed as to why the police don't defect more. There is a problem with suicide among officers, and they are under funded. Some syndicates are pro-YV. In general the police like to be robbed by Macron - Stockholm syndrome.
Now I will voice a few thoughts.
Let's speak about what happened on the 16th (act 18) in more detail. I arrived at the Champs-Élysées at around 10:15. I immediately noticed how the riot police (CRS) had cut the avenue in half with a row of trucks, like during act 17. But about 10 minutes later they moved the trucks and the water cannon into the side streets so that they were facing the avenue, as opposed to being in it. This was odd. It was as if they had handed the avenue to the YV on a silver platter without resistance. Perhaps a cauldron was more preferred instead of linear clashes. The first clashes happened near the Arc de Triomphe. Paving stones/rocks were being thrown at the trucks and EU tanks that were parked there. There was an endless screen of tear gas. No shop smashing had happened yet.
It must be understood that after the first few acts, Macron gave the order to use a stronger formula of tear gas. And normally there are mobile anti-terrorism units (BAC) on standby ready to chase the Yellow Vests and detain them. There was no BAC at all on the Champs-Élysées, probably because they would have been battered. After an attempt to go down one of the streets perpendicular to the AdT failed (police blocked it), everyone returned back to the AdT and then headed down the Champs-Élysées. It was here that the smashing began. There were police blocking every side street, launching tear gas every 30 seconds. In one of the videos I filmed you can see why CRS preferred to stand at a distance. They stood no chance. I am confident that a cop could've died at this moment if they hadn't retreated. The rocks were coming down on them like artillery. By the way, I have debunked the Fouquet false flag here - the media is yet to admit the truth, instead preferring to pin the blame on the Yellow Vests.
It reminded me a lot like Maidan in the sense that the cops were sitting ducks, and it felt like nothing could disperse the protestors. The YV took the Champs-Élysées and all the police could do was to try to herd people around like sheep via tear gas. The saving grace for the police was that the YV managed to break free down a side road and thus left the Champs-Élysées. The 2-hour riot across 2km began, down street after street. The "Black Block" was smashing things left, right, and centre. There were many things I didn't film because I didn't want to get on the wrong side of them. Last thing I needed was a smashed phone because they suspected I was an undercover cop (like Benalla). Shoppers and tourists simply watched with their jaw on the floor.
The police car incident was pretty crazy. They found an abandoned police car in the street, smashed it and torched it. Then within seconds the police helicopter above gave a tip off and cops on bikes arrived. The mad scramble to escape was frantic.
When I went into a regular shop to buy food, the "Black Block" arrived and started to smash the one next door. The shop owner closed the shutters in a hurry and didn't let me leave for 5 minutes. Finding the column again wasn't hard - I just followed the trail of smashed glass.
Now I will speak about the "Black Block". They are just the typical urban types who are impoverished, have poor education, and are maximally frustrated. I sympathise with them, since France's record of colonisation is appalling, and Macron does nothing to give them hope.
I don't agree with giving them a label either. At the end of the day, they are French citizens who are victims of the government's social genocide policy. They are the lost generation who can only expect to be slaves for the elite. They are human beings too, and shouldn't be dehumanised, which is the media's main tactic against the Yellow Vests. The Yellow Vests have not declared unification with the Black Block, and they probably won't, since the media will milk it, but it's clear now that the Yellow Vests need a power wing (силовое крыло). On the 16th the "Black Block" and YV worked together because they are both in survival mode. They both are against Macron/the system and they both understand that being "peaceful" whilst the government continues to pillage, physiologically torment, and liberalise/globalise the "plebs" is like grabbing your ankles and handing Macron the Vaseline.
Macron's adoption of the so-called "anti-casseur" law (read more here) was a pathetic attempt to indirectly ban protests. The media likes to label all Yellow Vests as "hooligans", so that the ultra-liberal Macron voters make more noise against the Yellow Vests. As I said, the Yellow Vests tried the peaceful route, and it was like pissing in the wind. Ironically, Macron cancelled the fuel tax hike and increased the minimum wage when the Yellow Vests were violent back in November/December. He thought that the YV's had ran out of steam because of the "grand debate". He was very wrong. Is violence "correct"? The problem is that the media uses images to evoke emotional reactions. Does the media ever show the Macron regime looting people's taxes and pensions? No. Do they show French weapons being used to massacre Syrian children? No. Do they highlight absolutely anything that they should if they truly worked for the people? No. They work for oligarchs and lobbies exclusively.
Macron and his neoliberal predecessors created "violence" as a rule of engagement, and not the Yellow Vests. Do the Yellow Vests have any other choice now? The cost of living gets worse and worse, so what should they do, bearing in mind that ISIS repatriated children receive better care? They should try to change things through the ballot box? Doesn't work, please refer to Catalonia. So what will now happen? In the near future: more large protests are in the works; May Day is coming up, so expect something big planned for this day; mass walk outs are possible; other effective acts of disruption that I will keep secret will also take place. The media will continue to brand the Yellow Vests as hooligans who are bad for business. Thus, the Yellow Vests will become more and more militant. Macron might try a weak tax cut as a "concession", but he might as well not bother, since it won't change anything.
There are EU elections in May too, which the Yellow Vests want to sabotage and prevent Macron's party from gaining votes. It hasn't yet been decided what the best course of action is here, but it's agreed that blank ballot papers is a bad idea. In the more longer term: if things remain on the current trajectory, then a civil war is on the cards. This is not a conflict on ethnic grounds. This clash concerns the system of governance. What the Yellow Vests want is so radically different from neoliberalism and the EU. It's like applying the handbrake/e-brake suddenly whilst traveling down the highway. Perhaps at first the Yellow Vests thought that a few violent protests would achieve the goals, but over time they started to realise the severity of the situation. Act 18 testifies to this - a sudden release of energy in order to keep the movement alive, to combat Macron's aggressive PR technologies (now the media is talking about the Yellow Vests again, albeit in a twisted way). Things like "RIC" and "Frexit" are merely concepts at the moment. Implementing the former is difficult since the parliament is designed in such a way to prevent the decentralisation of power. The latter depends on the implementation of the former.
Ultimately, this is an example of fourth generation warfare. In principle, it is a civil war already - in the framework of late-capitalism/liberalism. If to apply Gestalt theory, then the speed at which information is communicated and industrial processes take place is the only reason why it looks like just a "protest" on a Saturday and not a permanent war. In reality French society is as fragmented as, for example, society is in Sudan. And events in Syria-Ukraine-Venezuela-Iraq-Yemen-etc act as an added boomerang that is returning back to France rapidly, haunting it every Saturday.
The Yellow Vests represent this loss of synchronicity within the EU engine. When Trump was elected the rolling back of globalism started to increase its speed. Macron is trying to reverse this process. For example, he is about to privatise the airports. An added complication is that the Yellow Vests don't like party politics and thus will not vote for Le Pen, who they consider to be a product of the system. So we have an impasse like the one in the UK, where the will of the people counts for nothing, and society is ultra-fragmented. This is the consequence of the S-400 deployment in Syria. It caused the Western bloc to fragment (since the survival of the capitalism depends on looting the wealth of other nations), and thus the ship is now taking on water. But should the YV try to take the helm and save it? My answer: one cannot build a new system without completely demolishing the old one. France failed to do this in the previous revolutions. Feudalism persisted. Thus, the contradictions rise to the surface again. However, back then they didn't have the EU and US nuclear weapons to deal with.
My conclusion is that most French people are completely unaware of the reality that the country now exists in, and think that they can continue their lives as normal. They consider that the Yellow Vests are terrorists, and have already subconsciously dehumanised them. They put their heads in the sand as a protective mechanism, because they do not want to take responsibility for their own destinies and prefer somebody else to do everything - childishness that was imposed on France by America. After all, Macron's fellow Anglo puppet, Adolf Hitler, walked around Paris freely, without any resistance. This didn't happen in Moscow. But with the creation of RT France, which becomes exponentially more popular, there is at least one beacon of light. I know that the Yellow Vests have chosen RT and Sputnik as their default choice for mass information consumption, and I know that propagandists like BFM, CNEWS, LCI, FranceInfo, France24, etc are sweating in anticipation of their viewership reducing to zero. This means that the decades-old Anglo-Saxon tools of hegemony are losing their effect and the Overton window is receiving an overhaul.
I shall end this article with the statement made by the Yellow Vests after the violent March 16th protest, which I translated and published here.
Comment: Excellent reporting. This 'uprising' has it's roots in decades of systemic oppression, the slow, subtle kind that we see becoming ever more fascist all throughout the West. People around the word would do well to take a page from the Yellow Vests and find some solidarity with each other and stand against the slow destruction our their lives and erosion of their freedoms by the elite. See also: