Protests in France: Lesson in Democracy

Despite many bans on rallies and all possible obstructions by the state authorities, hundreds of thousands demonstrated again in France at the weekend. They demonstrated courage and prudence and thereby taught the authoritarian government a lesson in democracy.

This authority has severely restricted the right to demonstrate and, with the support of part of the media, has done everything to intimidate the protesters. These are therefore manipulated by a nebulous “ultra-left”, useful idiots of the La France insoumise election campaign, accomplices of rioters and partly responsible for the damage caused by the looting, and even for France's loss of image on the financial markets, which is costing the country dearly due to higher interest burdens.

The looting and violence at the demonstrations cannot be justified by anything, not even the shocking police violence and verbal provocations. The riot has no political meaning and ultimately benefits repressive regulatory policy. However, the government's argument does not stand up to closer inspection and is a smear campaign by a weak government that is overwhelmed by crisis management.

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One could scoff at this if it weren't all grist to the mill of the extreme right, which could come to power with Marine Le Pen in the presidential elections in six months. This doesn't seem to bother the current president, Emmanuel Macron, much. “If he wanted to help the extreme right gain power, he couldn’t do it better,” writes the French newspaper Libération.

With his repressive policies, Macron has plunged France into a crisis. The escalation came from the state leadership. Macron had a choice: He could have finally taken the students and the yellow vests seriously, discussed loans for schools and measures to increase the purchasing power of the weakest, or at least listened to the demands. But his answer was tear gas and bans on demonstrations. He shouldn't be surprised that those who continue to protest are demanding his removal.