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MORE THAN 10,000 people marched through Paris on Sunday in protest at “yellow vest” violence during the anti-government demos that have have drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets over the past 11 weeks.
Since mid-November President Emmanuel Macron has offered concessions and debates seeking to quell the weekly rallies that often end in violent clashes with police in the most serious challenge yet to his government.
In today’s rival protest, the crowds marched in rain from the Place de la Nation square to the Bastille monument, some chanting “Yes to democracy, no to revolution” as they waved French and European Union flags.
Dubbed the “red scarf” movement, the centrist initiative is the brainchild of an engineer from Toulouse who was horrified by the violence seen among more extremist “yellow vest” demonstrators.
Many protesters joining the rally said they were not against “yellow vest” demands for greater help for France’s poor, but were sick of the clashes and destruction that have marked protests.
A nursing manager who gave her name as Marie-Line said she believed the yellow vests had just cause to “grumble”, but came “to say that this verbal and physical violence must stop”.
“It’s not a protest against the yellow vests — it’s a protest to say, you’ve made your demands, we are listening to them,” Francois Patriat, a senator from Macron’s centrist party, told AFP at the demonstration.
“There are other places to discuss this than the street. You cannot block the country and economy because you consider the president to be illegitimate.”
Sunday’s protest was almost double the size of the “yellow vest” demonstration in Paris a day earlier, when some 4,000 people came out to rail against Macron.
The protesters are named after the luminous road safety vests that they wear.
Originally sparked by rises in fuel taxes, the movement quickly snowballed into a widespread revolt over accusations the president, an ex-banker, is out of touch with rural and small-town France.
But their numbers have ebbed in recent weeks after Macron announced a series of policy climbdowns and launched a two-month consultation to allow people to vent their anger.
Prominent ‘yellow vest’ hurt
Saturday’s protest in Paris saw a prominent “yellow vest” activist, Jerome Rodrigues, badly injured after claims he was hit in the eye by a police rubber bullet — an anti-riot weapon that has become highly controversial in France.
“He is in shock. He will be handicapped for life. It is a tragedy for him and his family,” Rodrigues’ lawyer Philippe de Veulle told BFM television.
Rodrigues, a construction worker, was placed in an artificial coma overnight after the incident at the Bastille monument on Saturday afternoon.
The 40-year-old, who has 50,000 followers on Facebook, was live-streaming the protest on the website when he was hit.
De Veulle said Rodrigues was struck in the eye with a “flashball”, referring to the 40-mm (1.6-inch) rubber projectiles used by French riot police.
Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Sunday told LCI television there was “no evidence” to show Rodrigues was hit by a police rubber projectile. Investigations were still ongoing into the incident.
The devices — which are not used in most European countries — have been blamed for dozens of serious injuries at “yellow vest” protests, leading to calls for them to be banned.
On Saturday, police using the weapons were for the first time deployed wearing body cams in a bid to increase transparency.
Rodrigues’ lawyer insisted his client was not one of the “hooligans” who have been joining the weekly protests to cause trouble for police.
In the video, Rodrigues can be heard several times warning protesters to leave the Bastille area because hard-left “black bloc” agitators were coming to attack the police.
Rodrigues is lodging a complaint against police, his lawyer said.
Witnesses picked up the projectile that struck Rodrigues and police are set to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
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Its blue pants day next sunday
@matthew o reilly: leva Bates would only love that
@matthew o reilly: that falls after no pants Saturday
@matthew o reilly: red panty night
@matthew o reilly: Naw,I’d say Pink Knickers is the next hot protest.Can’t wait.
@matthew o reilly: Sacre Bleu?
Ahh government led anti protest protest. Very clever Emanuel
@Toby Fish: wonder how long it takes this one to be hijacked by some group or other. Oh the suspense …will it go left or right.
@Toby Fish: haha Toby I bet u are one of those crusty, tree hugging sorts, that’s off their head on weed most days and hates anything that resembles a system lol
@Anthony: i actually as far right as you can get without turning extremist
Good for them, Parisiens are sick of thugs thrashing their city.
@Orla Smith: Good for them, Parisiens are sick of thugs thrashing their city.
@Orla Smith: completely agree. It’s time for ordinary decent people to take back their city from these yellow vest s¢umbags.
@Orla Smith: Well done this time on replying to yourself in the correct account, eh Toby. I must admit it was funny to see that little mix up happen!
@ThatLJD: explain?
@Paddy J: take it back and give it to the migrants is that what you mean?
@Orla Smith: think you will find parisiens are steadfast in their support for les gilet jaunes!
@Wont Surrender: you don’t have to burn, loot, vandalise and cause death to keep migrants out. Protests can also be peaceful. There is absolutely nothing that justifies these actions.
@tooler doogan: 4,000 Gilet Jaunes marching on Saturday, 10,000 red scarves on Sunday, get your calculator out.
@Orla Smith: dont kow where you get your information, but i can tell you the gilets jaunes were out all over france this weekend, 11th weekend in a row, small towns and villages too, French media seem to report it as it is!
@tooler doogan: French media only reports on the violence in the capital. The reality is that these protests are nationwide from large Cities to small villages. Like you correctly said
@tooler doogan: Got it from the article it’s just above the comments section there.
@Orla Smith: must be true so
@Toby Fish: aw Toby and your multiple accounts lol
@Jack: one story yesterday, or Friday, in the comments section, Orla and Toby left the exact same comment, hardly a coincidence, were having a full blown conversation with each other / them self. Bit odd, replying to your own comments with another account!
@tooler doogan: What figures do you have, post them here.
@ThatLJD: Rumour has it it’s a certain Mr. Egan who lives amongst the spuds and strawberries
@Orla Smith: https://www.liberation.fr/france/2019/01/27/toulouse-j-attendais-les-gilets-jaunes-depuis-toujours_1705817
Sorry its in french
@tooler doogan: That’s Toulouse, this article is about Paris.
@Orla Smith: showing you its all over, paris is just one city, google any french media group, its all there
@tooler doogan: We know it’s all over, but this article is about Paris, and that is what the original post was referring to.
@ThatLJD: more like I was having a conversation with pixie and Orla posted an identical comment under mine. “Full blown conversation” !. There was zero conversation. It was yesterday under the article about supermarket plastic. Check it out
@Orla Smith: sorry my english gets a bit muddled, thanks for pointing that out!
@Toby Fish: I think we lost him.
@Orla Smith: go away
@Orla Smith: Mmmm. Officialdom sees only red.
@Orla Smith: if you believe that your a gobsh!te
I wonder who is paying for this any guesses?
@Wont Surrender: paying for what?
You’d know the journal authors didn’t write it – and sure enough AFP at the end of the article
About time the French stood up to the YV anarchists, any excuse to fight the Police and destroy a beautiful city!
@Dotty Dunleary: you surely aren’t talking about Paris?
We should eradicate blue shirts in this country.
@Wont Surrender: that’s very easily done at the ballot box. All you have to do is persuade your fellow citizens to vote for …… Who should they vote for exactly?
@Paddy J: to be honest with you I couldn’t answer who they should vote for because none of the options in this country represent me but anything is better than a blue shirt.
Gob#hites
@gary mullen: presume you mean the yellow vest s¢um? Decent people don’t burn their cities, loot shops, spray graffiti on national monuments and cause the death of fellow citizens.
@Paddy J: nope I mean the Red scarf sheep! Following a government dead set on social division keeping the rich rich and making the poor poorer. Not that you’d understand.
@gary mullen: yellow vests have many legitimate grievances and they should be on the streets protesting. Violence however is not the way to get any message across. The red scarves are only opposed to the violence.
@Dave O’Keeffe: for the moment .
…until people don’t listen to them …..and then they get violent
@gary mullen: so you’re against them because you predict that they aren’t actually opposed to violent protests they are just trying to start another one? So not based on anything real then. Cool
@Dave O’Keeffe: I never said I was against them? I said they were Gob#shites! I never said I predict what will happen??? Um do you not read comments before you put your two cents in? They have already started to protest the same way as the yellow vests did peacefully……and then when they are not listened to things will escalate. Pack mentally will kick in and then violence will break out. I’m not sure what media sources your looking at but FB videos are not news. Not every yellow vests protestor is violent or has committed acts of violence against Paris.
@gary mullen: you literally just predicted they’d get violent for a second time. I never said all yellow vest protesters are violent. Far from it. The majority are not and its most likely an element just using it as cover that are doing the damage. Calling them gobsh!tes is very definitely saying you’re against them unless you’re calling yourself a gobsh!te.
@Dave O’Keeffe: I’m against people who don’t stand up for themselves against a government trying to destroy them. Im against people who take the moral high ground hiding behind their screens telling people what they should do yet if it came down to the wire they won’t do it themselves. I’m against people who are media sheep. I’m against governments who look down on people, belittle people and destroy countries by segregation of social class. Now if that makes me a Gobs+ite so be it on your opinion, but your opinion does not matter a bit to me.
Only the French. These will become know as the Haute Couture Protests
Brilliant Idea.
At least the french have the balls to get up off their arses and take action for whatever their gripe is, instead of posting comments on le journal and the likes, Gwan the French
@tooler doogan: totally agree France has always had a politically engaged population even if you disagree with their politics. It’s a true republic run by the people.
@Mjhint: spot on, and the quality of life is fantastic abeit they are protesting, compared to ireland it miles ahead in most things, protesting to keep that is a must for the french and always has been!
@tooler doogan:
Or maybe the rest of us respect the results of the ballot box?
Yeah seems to work well!!!!!!
@tooler doogan: ammm didn’t they vote this government in, it’s a democratic country after all. Vote them in and then resort to violent protests when u change your mind. Thats just pure thuggery
@Anthony: yeah but then the government goes back on all its promises, time for protest, this isnt new, this is french, why do they have a super health system, good transport, no car tax, its not because they are keyboard warriors!!
@tooler doogan: *Complains about people not getting off their arse to protest instead of commenting on The Journal. Sits on arse and posts 7 comments on one article.*
@Orla Smith: im french, i was out today doing my bit!
@tooler doogan: Sure you are.
@Orla Smith: lol
@Mjhint: a true republic run by the people?? Seriously ? The media put macron where he is , very easily trapped filion in affairs and got rid of his main opponent at first round, he couldn’t loose second round against le Pen , just like Ireland France voted no on Lisbon treaty they didn’t get a second vote Sarkozy passed it true the chamber . “People” run nothing in most countries you be deluded to think they do . A true republic run by corporation. When lobbyist is an official European job it says it all .
Lets just stop it there before they get to the boxer shorts protest!
Giving serious thought to starting a Brown Jocks movement.
@David Horgan: I think Ben Gilroy beat you to that one
Man the French know how to protest. Protesting about the protesters, I’m sure there must be a newer group getting ready to protest against the protesters’ protesters.
They must be awful bored in Paris.
Once you have yours then opposition to any type of change that might take yours from you is the preferable course.
Red scarves are sartorially more acceptable than Black shirts and Blue shirts, I suppose, although it’s easier to find the latter on sale cheaply in charity shops.
The French adore Le Piat D’Or(dishwater)
@Quentin Moriarty: Il Dubonne, elle Dubonne – Dubonnez-vous?
For 11 weeks the journal never reported about yellow vest in france .Now first week of this red protest it’s news,go to youtube and get real news not this sensord crap
Wont be needed here as green vest “movement” is a dead duck!!
have your say