How Putin and the Far Right Played the Paris Yellow Vests Protests 

Russia didn’t trigger the Gilets Jaunes. But Putin and the far right want to see Paris burn and Europe weakened and divided, so they jumped at the chance to contaminate and manipulate them.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-how-putin-and-the-far-right-played-the-paris-yellow-vests-protests-1.6743555

 

This is bullshit. Putin would prefer a better stronger Europe with far less Yankee influence. The Yanks want a scratchy flea-ridden Europe as a vassal to their empire...:

 

Berlin seems to be losing patience with the US ambassador who didn’t mince his words over German defense spending. A high-ranking MP demanded that the envoy be sent home because he acts “like an occupation commissioner.”

Wolfgang Kubicki, vice speaker of the German parliament, called for Richard Grenell to be declared persona non grata immediately, local media reported. The emotive remark wasn’t limited to what Berlin should do in relation to the American ambassador.

“If a US diplomat acts like a high commissioner of an occupying power, he will have to learn that our tolerance has its limits,” Kubicki said angrily. Grenell had crossed the line again and interfered “in political affairs of the sovereign Federal Republic,” the senior MP argued.

Earlier, the official Twitter account of the US embassy in Berlin quoted Grenell as saying: “Reducing its already unacceptable commitments to military readiness is a worrisome signal to Germany’s 28 NATO allies.”

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/454201-germany-us-ambassador-non-grata/

When I see Western leaders smiling, shaking hands and offering sage and heartfelt advice on tours of Africa, I just can’t help settling in for the show because you know some top level hypocrisy is just around the corner.

By far, my favorite part of politics is watching its highest level practitioners ignore whatever inconvenient facts from the past are getting in the way of the blatant self-interest of the present. The French leader visiting Africa? Well you know this is going to be a good one.

Africa is full of elephants, and many of them are political, sitting in the corners of rooms and trumpeting away merrily at the likes of Emmanuel Macron. His ability to ignore the weight of history has proved commendable.

Macron’s been on a tour of East Africa, specifically Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. He’s not there to make the world a better place, but because economies in Africa are growing fast, in fact six of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world are there.

One of the agreements Macron made on his trip was to build a trainline in Nairobi. If you had any doubt that colonial instincts run deep, then that blast from the past should get rid of it.

Nothing stirs Europe’s colonial powers like the thought of riches up for grabs in Africa, well apart from the thought that someone else might grab them first.

It was much easier to get away with smash and grab forays into Africa when there were no competitors, but there’s a new power in town that goes by the name of China. France doesn’t like the idea of China getting involved in a part of the world where it has had a free run for, well centuries really, and Macron travelled with dire warnings about letting Beijing in the front door.

Problem is, France already kicked the front door off its hinges, stole the sofa and made the people living in the house cook dinner. Historically speaking of course.

Macron warned of China’s growing presence in Africa saying: “I wouldn’t want a new generation of international investments to encroach on our historical partners’ sovereignty or weaken their economies.”

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/453939-macron-china-africa-presence/

 

 

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It’s become a kind of ritual: every Saturday evening, there are new images of thousands of gilets jaunes (yellow vests) in the streets of Paris and other French cities. Every week, protesters are injured by the police. Every week, commentators claim the movement is fading. And yet, the following weekend, the yellow wave washes over France again. The attendance numbers may fluctuate, but the anger remains.

The 16 March protest was the most violent in weeks. Around 10,000 protesters marched in Paris. Shops on the Champs Elysées were looted, their windows broken. ATMs were smashed. Several newspaper kiosks were set ablaze, destroying the livelihood of their owners, an act as shocking as it is cruel – and stupid, especially for a movement that stands for better living and working conditions.

The day produced images that France had never seen before. “Fouquet’s is burning!” I exclaimed as I checked the news. Setting fire to public buildings obviously isn’t funny – but the act was so on-the-nose for the social movement that has consistently denounced the elitist attitude of president Emmanuel Macron, I couldn’t hold back a nervous laugh.

Few places embody wealth and power like the luxurious brasserie and hotel of Fouquet’s on the Champs-Elysées. A set menu at the restaurant, with champagne and foie gras, will set you back €86 (£74); you can savour 10g of caviar for €38 and sleep in the presidential suite for €15,000 a night. Most French people, especially gilets jaunes, who often come from the working and lower middle classes, could never afford to go there.

The brasserie has long been shorthand in France for a wealthy, out-of-touch lifestyle. It was Fouquet’s where Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his presidential victory in 2007, inviting his rich friends and billionaire campaign donors to join him. The scene crystallised what would later be described as Sarkozy’s “bling” attitude and is still remembered in France as the symbol of the disconnect between the elites and the people. Sarkozy’s Fouquet’s mistake cost him so much that Macron was careful not to replicate it.

 

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/20/paris-rich-ablaze-...

 

Though Fouquet restaurant is named after the restaurant's founder, Louis Fouquet, it is interesting to peruse other Fouquets such as Jean-François Foucquet, also known as Jean-François Fouquet:

 

Fouquet studied at the Lycée Louis le Grand in Paris. In 1681 he entered the order of the Jesuits. Four years later he taught mathematics. In 1693 he became a priest and in the following year he decided he wanted to volunteer in Asia. In 1699 he arrived in Amoy. Until 1711 he worked in Fujian and Jiangxi, then he was invited to Peking, to teach math and astronomy.[2] He left hurriedly in 1720 with 1200 manuscripts. In Canton he had to wait one year for a French ship.[3] He returned to Europe in 1722.[4]

Fouquet had taken with him a Chinese man, named Hu, who liked Paris and got lost in Quartier Latin. Hu preached for a while in the Chinese language in front of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, attracting a crowd. Fouquet decided to go to Rome and planned to take Hu with him; Hu did not like to travel by stagecoach, got furious and preferred to go by foot. When Fouquet set off by himself, Hu was taken with a lettre de cachet to an asylum in Charenton.[5]

On 8 June 1723, Fouquet was received by Pope Innocent XIII. Fouquet met another Chinese in Rome, who offered him help with translating. In 1725 he was appointed as bishop of Eleutheropolis in Palestine.

He published the Tabula Chronologica Historiæ Sinicæ ("Chronological table of Chinese History"). Foucquet, a Figurist,[6] endeavoured to show that the Book of changes (I Ching) anticipated the coming of Jesus Christ.[7]

 

Read more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-François_Foucquet

 

Fouquet Restaurant in happier times — picture by Gus Leonisky

fouquet's

 

Before the Yellow Vests, there was the French Revolution of the white underpants... This from a Vogue magazine circa 2016. 

Life is weird... Read from top.

Video. Macron to children: "people put a yellow vest to break everything, they do not care that things are better"

 

At first, the "yellow vests" were people who "could not manage to make ends meet" and said "we do not live well enough". "And then, we must take the car to work, it becomes more and more expensive and we have many constraints and (...) we are far from the big cities," said the President of the Republic to his young audience. "That's why there are many French and French who said: we agree with" yellow vests, "said the head of state. To these people, he added, the president "wants to provide an answer".

 "Yellow vests that I do not like"

"We tried to bring first answers in December, doing things for what is called their purchasing power," he said at the end of an exchange that lasted about two hours. Then there was a second phase of the movement, he continued. Protesters "put on a yellow vest to break everything". They "do not care that it's better, they just want it to be their rule that imposes on others". "It's the ultras as they say (...) And they are the yellow vests that I do not like"

 

Translation by Jules Letambour

 

From:

https://www.sudouest.fr/2019/03/28/video-macron-a-des-enfants-des-gens-o...

 

 

 

 

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Thousands of protesters are rallying across France as Yellow Vest demonstrations show no sign of abating on their 20th week despite authorities banning many locations. A heavy police presence can be seen throughout the country.

In Paris, protesters gathered in two locations, forming a joint column and marched towards  towards Trocadéro square.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/455152-yellow-vests-protest-france/

 

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Emmanuel Macron is known as an advocate of combating pollution globally, but did he succeed in doing so in France? RT visited one of Europe’s largest industrial zones, where noxious fumes are putting people’s lives at risk.

Fos-sur-Mer looks like an idyllic seaside city in southern France, but it accommodates a sizeable port and industrial facilities, including oil refineries, chemical factories and steel plants. Day and night, all of these are releasing toxic fumes into the air, RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij reported.

Residents claim that these compounds are having a devastating effect on their health, with the number of cancer, diabetes and asthma patients higher than the national average. “The main problem comes from the industrial port area which emits ultrafine particles that get into our lungs and blood streams,” said Daniel Moutet, president of a local environmental group.

READ MORE: ‘Hypocrite’: Macron takes heat over Twitter post on ‘pollution deaths’ in France

Moutet, who has diabetes, explained that the high rate of diseases could have been lower if noxious waste was disposed of properly by Fos-sur-Mer factories. “Just 50km from here, none of this is happening, so this is a local problem,” he added.

Local industries maintain that they meet the highest environmental standards possible. The Esso refinery, for instance, which produces seven million tons of petroleum products a year, said it halved its sulfur emissions over the past 10 years while reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by two-thirds, according to AFP.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/455419-france-pollution-macron-residents/

 

 

 

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Read also: dealing with the moronic one notion’s crew and the noah’s social club's chief, on a chemically lucky planet…

In a letter, 1,400 famous French artists decry the way the yellow vests are treated by the government and ignored by the main stream media:

...

Entitled "We are not fooled", the text argues that Yellow Vests claim "essential issues" [such as] a more direct democracy, greater social and fiscal justice [and] radical measures against the state of emergency. These celebrities have also accused the "mainstream media": "We see the tricks used to discredit the Yellow Vests — described as anti-ecologists, extremists, racists, hooligans ... These tricks do not have any truth, this story does not stick not even if the mainstream media and government spokespersons would try to make us believe it."

The number of wounded, broken lives, arrests and convictions are out of proportion.

 

The artists also condemn the violence against the protesters. "The number of injuries, broken lives, arrests and convictions is beyond comprehension. How can we still exercise our right to demonstrate in the face of such repression? ", They ask. They are scandalized by a "legislative arsenal called  "anti-breaker" which violates fundamental freedoms.

The artists also argue that "the most threatening violence is economic and social violence", and add to the perception that Emmanuel Macron is the "president of the rich: "[Violence,] of this government only defends the interests of the few to the detriment of all."

"Drawing a better world"

As ecologist, this artists' collective believes that "the convergence of social and environmental struggles is on the way".

"We, writers, musicians, directors, producers, sculptors, photographers, sound and image technicians, scriptwriters, choreographers, draftspersons, painters, circus performers, comedians, artists, dancers, creators of all kinds, are revolted by the repression, the manipulation and irresponsibility of this government at such a pivotal moment in our history". They conclude by calling on citizens to "design a better world".

This text is in opposition to that of other "stars" who, on December 9, had asked the Yellow Vests to "stop". Among these other stars were Bernard Henri-Levy, Cyril Hanouna, Thierry Lhermitte and Stephane Bern, who had chosen to stand against the Yellow Vests protest movement.

 

Read more:

https://francais.rt.com/france/61776-1-400-artistes-affichent-leur-souti...

 

 

Translation by Jules Letambour

 

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What is a Flash Ball? Flash Ball is the name used to refer to various models of weapons that fire non-lethal projectiles, usually made of rubber or condensed foam, and most often used by police for crowd control.
 The name comes from a model invented by a retired teacher in France called Pierre Richert in his garage in 1990 who wanted to create a non-lethal alternative to conventional firearms.
 "For a long time, I wanted to do the opposite of what everyone else had done, small caliber at high velocity that makes holes. I wanted to get to a big projectile at low velocity that hits hard without wounding," he told France 3 during an interview in 1995.
 No flash is actually visible upon firing the weapon nor upon impact of the projectile. The original model, adopted by the French police in France in 1995, has since been replaced but the name Flash Ball has stuck.  
The latest model, the LBD 40, is equipped with an electronic aiming device and fires a 40mm foam projectile weighing 95 grams (3.35 oz.), effective at up to 30 m (100 ft.). 

Why do the police use it?
 The French police adapted the Flash Ball to combat urban violence, allowing officers to respond to assailants wielding knives or pellet guns without potentially killing them.
 But over time, especially during the 2005 riots in the Paris banlieues, police began using them as a tool for maintaining public order. 

Read more:
https://www.thelocal.fr/20190128/riot-control-guns-whats-all-the-fuss-about-flash-balls-in-france



Meanwhile:


On May 27, Guy Mettan, a member of the Geneva parliament, tabled a draft resolution to outlaw the sale of LBD to France. The Swiss-made weapon was often accused of inflicting severe injuries on protesters.

The controversy surrounding the use by the French law enforcement team of defense ball launchers is taking place in the Swiss debate. On May 27, a draft resolution to ban the export of this weapon manufactured by the Bern firm Brügger & Thomet, was tabled by Guy Mettan, center-right deputy in the parliament of Geneva. "Yellow vests came to complain to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights because of the use of the LBD," said the Swiss MP quoted by Le Point. "I thought it was not logical for a Swiss company to contribute to these abuses."

The same source reports that Guy Mettan relied on Article 5 of the "1998 War Material Ordinance" to result in a ban. The article in question stipulates that war material can not be exported "if there is a strong risk that, in the country of destination, the war material to be exported will be used against the civilian population". For now, the LBD is considered a non-lethal weapon, that is, designed in such a way that the target is not killed or seriously injured.

Responsible for cases of serious injury or even mutilation, since the beginning of the yellow vests movement, the use of the LBD in the framework of the maintenance of the order was the object of strong criticisms even within the forces of the order.

On January 28, the Autonomous Collective of the Ile-de-France police officers had already alerted about the intensive use of force and non-lethal weapons in the Yellow Vest demonstrations and had warned: "The colleagues who make n whatever, they will have to assume, but it is not necessarily the ones who will have done the worst thing that will be the most sanctioned. "

Read more:
https://francais.rt.com/france/62558-depute-suisse-veut-interdire-livraison-lbd-france
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After being partially destroyed in March, the restaurant Le Fouquet's will reopen its doors to the public on July 14th. The lucky ones who can book a table on the day of reopening will be in the front row to see the national day parade.

Le Fouquet's brewery, partly set on fire on March 16 on the sidelines of a Yellow Vests event on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, will reopen on July 14 "restored identically", the Barrière group announced in a statement this 8th of July.

 

Read more:

https://francais.rt.com/france/63726-saccage-lors-manifestation-gilets-j...

 

 

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the anger remains...

Many of the police radars destroyed during the yellow vests crisis have been "put back into working order" and "most of the radars are operational" for the beginning of the summer holidays, said the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, after a meeting of the National Road Safety Council (CNSR) on Tuesday. "We have started to replace destroyed radars, and a lot of radars have been put back into operation," he added.

In his closing remarks at the CNSR meeting, he said "nearly 1,000 fixed speed cameras were destroyed and, at the height of the crisis, 75% of them was damaged," he said, adding that they are now replaced by "modern radars, improved and able to capture red light infractions and record the use of the telephone while driving as well".

 

Read more:

https://www.sudouest.fr/2019/07/09/l-essentiel-des-radars-degrades-duran...

 

Translation by Jules Letambour.

 

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The Yellow Vests' anniversary comes amid new unrest in Paris, as the weekend protesters clashed with the police on Saturday, prompting law enforcement forces to ban the rallies.

Yellow Vests protesters are gathering in the French capital Paris on 17 November, Sunday, exactly a year after mass demonstrations rocked France.

The rallies, symbolised by the yellow high-visibility vests of the protesters that gave the movement its name, were initially sparked by a fuel tax hike that was later scrapped by the government.

Nevertheless, the Yellow Vests transformed into a movement voicing general anti-government dissent that continued weekly throughout the year and often turned violent, leading to police and protesters clashing with each other.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201911171077329528-yellow-vests-demonstra...

 

 

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A follow-up note from the protest movements that RT France has been able to consult (as well as many other colleagues in recent weeks) is presented as an "alert" of a possible "conflagration", in certain media: what is it really? "Intelligence fears a second wave of yellow vests", according to Le Point (May 14), "Deconfinement: intelligence alerts to calls to demonstrate" at RTL (May 11) ... More dramatic tone at CNews which draws the alarm on May 11: "Yellow vests, ultra-right or ultra-left ... Intelligence fears a conflagration for the deconfinement".

 

Le Parisien, slightly more phlegmatic or more experienced in the exercise since he recalled having revealed a similar note a few weeks earlier, simply noted on May 10: "The intelligence services are worried about the calls to demonstrate". Le Parisien daily newspaper refers this time to an article by FranceInfo which evokes, the same day, a deconfinement which could be "agitated", almost laconic.

 

On the same May 10, the last day of confinement, the Acrimed media observatory quibbled the journalist from France inter, Nathalie Saint-Cricq, calling her "France's first cop", facing Christophe Castaner when she asked the minister of the Interior (himself qualified as "journalist"): "Do you have precise information on small groups, either of the far left, or reconverted yellow vests, who are ready to gear up to sow discord? in France on the occasion of deconfinement?”

 

Find out more about RT France: https://francais.rt.com/france/75088-grand-retour-gilets-jaunes-contesta...

 

 

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The common list of left-wing parties in the second round of the municipal elections in Toulouse, Archipel Citoyen(Citizen Archipelago), has made an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Environmentalist Antoine Maurice came second in the first round of the elections. He mobilized almost all the left-wing formations against the outgoing mayor, the Republican Jean-Luc Moudenc, known for his secular views.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an international secret society which aims to seize power throughout the Middle East by manipulating the Muslim religion [1]. They formed a local party, the Democratic Union of French Muslims, whose name aims to conceal their total and irreversible opposition to democracy. The party is chaired by Mhamdi Taoufik (photo), director of a bodyguard company.

Antoine Maurice is close to Cécile Duflot, former Minister of Housing and current director of Oxfam-France, which belongs to the Oxfam International Federation, known in the Middle East for its links with MI6 (British secret services). Following several failed coup attemps in the Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood leaders were granted political asylum in France and Germany during the Cold War on the recommendation of MI6.

 

 

Read more:

https://www.voltairenet.org/article210332.html

 

 

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The new law and order doctrine in France was published on September 17th. It recognizes "the special place of journalists within the demonstrations". So special that some journalists are worried about the exercise of their profession. 

The Interior Ministry published the National Law Enforcement Scheme (SNMO) on September 17. This new doctrine particularly concerns journalists who cover social movements, since it intends to "protect the right to inform" and recognizes "the special place of journalists in demonstrations".

A few lines after making these commitments, the Minister of the Interior nevertheless wishes to point out that "staying in a crowd after summons does not include any exceptions, including for the position of journalists or members of associations." "As soon as they are at the heart of a crowd, they must, like any citizen, obey the injunctions of the representatives of the police by positioning themselves outside the demonstrators called to disperse", continues the ministry , thus suggesting that journalists are exposed, like everyone else, to an interpellation in this kind of situation, even if they are documenting the events. 

To remedy the problem that can crop up, the SNMO offers journalists "awareness-raising on the legal framework for demonstrations, on cases of use of force and in particular on the conduct to be taken when summons are issued". In other words, offer them a good behavior course under the supervision of the ministry. 

Another sensitive point, the ministry plans to set up a "channel of exchange" between a designated police officer on an event, and ... accredited journalists, holders of a press card. To receive information from the police during social movements, it will therefore be necessary for journalist to show their approved papers, beforehand. 

Is the Home Office keeping journalists in check? 

This doctrine greatly worries the journalist profession, starting with its majority union the SNJ, which has vigorously criticized it: "the Interior Ministry does not have to put in line journalists who cover demonstrations."

Learn more about RT France: https://francais.rt.com/france/78909-liberte-presse-changement-doctrine-...

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A nationwide strike has kicked off in France, with public sector workers demanding better pay and working conditions and condemning sloppy government support amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The strike began across France on Thursday after being called by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), one of the nation’s largest unions. Other trade unions joined in – including the Federation Syndicale Unitaire and Solidaires – as well as student groups and youth organizations.

Thousands of workers took to the streets of Paris and marched through the city center. Protesters carried a large banner reading “Jobs, salaries, working time, pensions ... let’s revive the social”, video footage from the scene shows.

 

Read more:

https://www.rt.com/news/514605-france-protests-national-strike/

 

 

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See also: 

le french bordel...

Demonstrations against the “sanitary pass” are on the rise in Europe. At issue is the discrimination between citizens based on their health status; in other words, those who have received the anti COVID-19 vaccine and those who resist it.

In Paris, two competing events have been scheduled for 11 September 2021. One is organized by Florian Philippot, who began in the world of politics as a member of the left-leaning Citizens’ Movement led by Jean-Pierre Chevenement, who then joined Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Front, and is now running as a republican at the head of his own party The Patriots.

The other is convened by Jérôme Rodriguez, a member of the Yellow Vest Movement who lost an eye in January 2019 at the hands of the police during a demonstration and who was lucky enough to be compensated on in March 2011.

The first of these events aims to promote French sovereignty. The purpose of the second is to gather under the same umbrella all of President Emmanuel Macron’s opponents.

The problem is that the posters for Jérôme Rodriguez’s demonstration are emblazoned with a raised fist. But not just any raised fist: it’s the registered logo of Black Lives Matter, the American racialist organization, and for thirty years, it was displayed as the logo for all the color revolutions orchestrated by the National Endowment for Democracy [1] and Gene Sharp’s minions [2].

Without a doubt, Jérôme Rodriguez’s movement will soon end up converting into something else. while pulling in part of the groups opposed to Macron to the ultimate advantage of the latter, who aspires to be re-elected as president of France in 2022.

 

  Read more: https://www.voltairenet.org/article214006.html  Read from top.   assangez