In a blast from the past, calls are once again circulating in France for the ‘yellow vests’ to take to the streets and roundabouts, in a protest against the rising cost of living.
Another day of Gilets Jaunes protest on Saturday, October 17th? There are growing calls on social media for the ‘yellow vest’ protesters to once again take to the streets and roundabouts of France.
In protests called in response to the rising cost of living, especially fuel prices, among other issues, local ‘yellow vest’ groups are calling for protests in dozens of towns and cities including Paris, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble.
In smaller towns or rural areas, there are calls for the protesters to once again take to the roundabouts to register their protest.
The Gilet Jaune movement was a loose, citizen-organised protest movement that saw huge demos during 2018 and 2019, before gradually tailing off after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a number of concessions to their demands.
Although the movement continued into 2020 and 2021, by the end calls to demonstrate were attracting just a handful of people.
As with the original movement, the new protest calls have been issued on social media and are organised on a local level with no national organisation structure – meaning that it is difficult to predict how many people will answer the call and how much disruption it may cause.
One of the appeals to demonstrate is circulating on social media. Screenshot: Facebook
In Paris, police confirmed that no official notice of a demo had been filed, but added that the deadline is usually between 15 and three days in advance, depending on the size of the event.
The original movement began as a protest over a new fuel tax before spreading into a wider expression of discontent – this time rising fuel prices are also cited as the cause, along with broader issues around the cost of living, tax rates and political representation.
Calls to mobilise have been made in towns including: Angers, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Perpignan, Rennes, Saint-Étienne, Paris, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Tours, Nîmes, Reims, Le Havre and Mulhouse.
