Washington Post: Cultural Anxiety Fuels France’s Protests

The “gilets jaunes,” or yellow vest movement, target French cities with violent protests and economic disruptions. The protests are spreading to Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. One analyst suggests that what began as opposition to a tax designed to slow climate change has exploded into a working-class revolt. Yet surveys suggest that 79 percent of French citizens regard climate change as a “very serious problem” with 14 percent regarding it as the world’s most pressing challenge. French citizens take personal actions to reduce a warming climate at a higher rate than EU citizens do as a whole, including reducing waste and insulating their homes; 82 percent suggest that actions to reduce climate change can boost jobs and the economy. “A chastened French government suspended the carbon tax last week, prompting President Trump to crow over Macron’s doomed commitment to a climate agenda,” writes Ishaan Tharoor for the Washington Post. A small minority, urged on by foreign critics of the EU, is thwarting democracy. Violence won’t resolve legitimate concerns about inequality, and a writer for the Financial Times notes, “None of these people actively desires civilizational meltdown. They just under-rate the prospect of it happening as an inadvertent result of their actions.” – YaleGlobal