patrick.net

The NYT in a dark mood on this one:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/opinion/macron-yellow-vest-protests.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
"So what if President Macron fails? This is not an easy question. In the uncharted environment created by the collapse of the old French political balances, there is no obvious alternative, no opposition leader prepared to win a snap election, no strong political parties. Whatever happens in the next few days, President Macron will not be able to govern as he did in his first year. “One cannot govern against the people,” his political ally François Bayrou sternly warned him last week."

"Most likely, his reform agenda will need a pause. The hard work still to be done — the reforms of the pension system, of the civil service, of local taxes, of political institutions — will have to wait or be watered down. Curbing public spending will be an even bigger challenge. The Yellow Vests are demanding fewer taxes and more public services. And the crucial equation between ecological transition and social justice will be even harder to solve.

Such a scenario of France reverting to its old woes will do the European Union no good. With Germany absorbed for another year by its domestic political upheavals, the European agenda will be left unattended. This is a cruel dimension of Mr. Macron’s travails: The only leader bold enough to articulate an attractive vision of a renewed European project, he was hung out to dry by those very leaders who had celebrated him. It is difficult to imagine how the pendulum can now swing back: The last bulwark against nationalism is gone. Donald Trump and Italy’s Matteo Salvini may have the last laugh."

Macron was elected because he spanned the center and basically took over the 2 traditional parties.
This easy victory was seen as a major success against "populists" but the flaw was always obvious: the neo liberal policies he stands for are still extremely unpopular, and should his popularity be crushed (as it is now), what will then be the recourse? What will be the 2nd "establishment" party that will be there ready to take the relay?

The whole point is that he held the center against fringe populists: communists on one side, nationalists on the other. But that eliminates the usual divide and conquer establishment strategy.

And if France falls, with all southern countries behind it, what will become of Europe, the euro, and Germany then?
Especially when Germany has its own troubles of its own making.
Trump and Italy’s Matteo Salvini may laugh.

French President Emmanuel Macron has given in to the initial demands of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement and permanently cancelled the proposed increase tax on fuel after a negative reaction to a six-month deferment.

France proves that violent protests work. If the protesters were in Saudi or Iran, they would all have been shot.

Another victim of AGW.

Emmanuel Macron Criticizes Climate Change Tax Protesters For Not Using Carbon-Neutral Rioting Methods

https://babylonbee.com/news/emmanuel-macron-criticizes-climate-change-tax-protesters-for-not-using-carbon-neutral-rioting-methods