A Deja-Vu in the Kingdom of France…
Now that the holiday truce ended the Gilets Jaunes are back in the streets of French cities. Is it ‘same old’ in a country renowned for its culture of street protest? Or is there something excitingly refreshing with this movement?
The fact that the French government wants to pass asap restrictive measures for unauthorised demonstrations is an indication that they are increasingly worried of something they can’t control. And it’s true that the movement of the Gilets Jaunes is proving to be quite resilient. This is in my view the most intriguing question out there.
Where does it come from?
This is not a movement of like-minded with a clear objective in mind contrary to what we saw with the mobilisation against the ‘same-sex marriage’ in 2013. The Gilets Jaunes are saying it themselves they don’t have the same opinions on many topics besides a shared concerned of social decommissioning. For instance, some are openly against migration but right-wing attempt to recuperate the movements including against the Global Compact on Migration signed in Marrakesh on 11 December have failed.
You hear that.
They are a group so diverse that many have admitted that one of the strength of the movement has been precisely this possibility for them to meet other people with other opinions and to agree to disagree.
To have a dialogue…
This is a powerful image when you think about politicians lost in childish debates — fighting against each other to be winner.
Here we have citizens opening their mind and listening to each other. Engaging in real exchanges. Who said that it was no longer possible in our polarised society?
The forgotten value of fraternity rediscovered on roundabouts across France!
Comes a second point on the role of the media.
They are having a hard time boxing them in a category or another following existing political lines. Labelling is an important tool for media to convene a message. They want to know what ‘they’ think on taxation, retirement, citizen involvement, etc. But because of the previous point (roundabouts turned into grounds for debates and ‘fraternity) — they can’t.
The media could admit and give up on labelling but it’s difficult for them — they need to attract readers and viewers to sell. They need to box them in existing categories. For instance, are all the Gilets Jaunes breakers (casseurs) who want to fight the police?
By the way, given the level of repression and the use of force it is hard not to see an attempt to push the movement to radicalise as a way to demonise them. There would be a lot to say (that has already been said) on the role of today’s media on the current state of our democracy and our perception of it but let’s stick to the Gilets Jaunes for now.
Boxing them has not worked so far. The Gilets Jaunes are resilient because they are different. Not different from you and me on the contrary.
They are different from the more ideologically driven (and rather small) portion of the population that can take the street or the interest groups that are trying to preserve their social advantages (typically railway workers in France). I’m not judging how well founded are these protests but simply highlighting how different the Gilets Jaunes are in that matter.
In a way, the Gilets Jaunes are you and me:They are tired with this system (we are all) and they found a way to get their voice heard.
More than ‘Nuit Debout’ in France or Occupied in many Western Countries that mostly targeted the financial system, the Gilets Jaunes are a popular call for more democracy.
One of the main measures that has been put forward by many is to immediately introduce popular initiatives and referendums in the constitution. Notably President Macron has not responded to this request — far more threatening for the political status quo than increasing lower classes’ purchasing power.
I personally think that it is not enough to simply try and adjust the current system. As is often quoted following Einstein:
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
And I would add to that quote from Richard Fuller:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”.
For me that’s what needs to happen: going back to the Gilets Jaunes, what they are at least implicitly standing against is the system of representation that is at the heart of our democratic set-up. They are saying to the politicians and to the media: we are the people and we stand in front of you — now you don’t have a choice but to listen to us.
I’m proud of them and my heart is with them.
But I wonder how sustainable it is given that they are by nature pluralistic and thus they are not a single interlocutor. As a matter of fact, they have stayed away from electing representative or from self-proclaimed spokespersons. This is another great feature as they refuse to play by the rule of the representative system.
Therefore:
- I hope the Gilets Jaunes will continue and will grow true to their initial spirit.
- I hope such a movement can be accompanied by initiatives that want to tackle the root of the problem: representation.
- I hope that all of us can join them in claiming back our democracy in the true spirit of the French revolution: Liberty - Equality - Fraternity
In 2019 I’m hopeful and plan to play a role: if you’re interested too please have a look here.
