Current Concerns
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11 January 2019 No 1 ISSN 1664-7963 Current Concerns PO Box CH-8044 Zurich Current Concerns Switzerland The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, Phone: +41 44 350 65 50 Fax: +41 44 350 65 51 and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.currentconcerns.ch English Edition of Zeit-Fragen France — Revolt of the common people jpv. Since mid-November there has been “Ronds-Points” have become the heart is scattered and far apart – and some- a lot of talk about the “yellow vests” (“gi- of a French revolt of the common people where in between the Rond-Point. The lets jaunes”) in France and the surround- from the rural regions, mostly from the metropolises in which the winners of ing countries. The term is derived from lower middle class, who is not represent- globalisation are thinking about ecolo- the yellow warning vests, which must be ed by any party, feels marginalized by the gy and the future of transport are often carried in every car, and which the pro- globalized economy and despised by the more than a hundred kilometers away. testers wear as identification marks. Parisian elites. There is also little left of rural agricul- The demonstrations, initially organ- On the first weekends – before violent ture. The local farmers have largely dis- ized nationwide via social media, began attacks by organised groups of thugs took appeared, as have the grocery stores as a protest against additional fuel lev- over – they also travelled to Paris to ex- and craftsmen, post offices and rail- ies planned by President Emmanuel Ma- press their “Raz-de-bol” to the govern- way stations, bakeries and cafés. With- cron to finance and implement the energy ment and especially to the president. out a car, neither the workplace nor the turnaround in France; prices had already Historically, the Ronds-Points are no shopping facilities nor the doctor can risen by 18% in the course of the year. accidental arena. They are an expres- be reached. New are the industrial ag- This was the drop that broke the camel‘s sion of an urban sprawl that has been riculture, the single-family house in the back. going on since the 1960s, with disas- countryside, the “Hypermarché” (giant For several weeks now, and still today, trous ecological and social consequenc- supermarket), which all result in a large people, many of whom have never voted es that the current malaise has helped land consumption. or demonstrated, have been gathering at to cause. The old village, the industri- The following two articles deal with countless roundabouts throughout France al estate, the social housing estate, the the future of the yellow vests and the need to draw attention to their situation. The owner-occupied housing estate, all this for re-industrialisation in France. Yellow Vests: Future scenario by Myret Zaki, editor-in-chief of the business magazine “Bilan” of French-speaking Switzerland After the violent The expectations of most motivated, Elysée. The real sanction against Macron clashes of the last young, less anxious people, dedicated to will take place at the ballot box: For the weekends, Emma- opposition and activism, go far beyond the European elections in May 2019, Ma- nuel Macron’s an- president’s concessions, which they call rine Le Pen leads the polls with 24% of nouncements and “peanuts”. But they too will hesitate to es- the votes, ahead of LREM/Modem [centre- the shooting in calate the conflict – for lack of resources right] with 18%. But the real counter-reac- Strasbourg – what and in view of the mass arrests that took tion will be felt when the invoice for Ma- does the future of place before the 4th weekend on December cron’s announced measures is delivered to the Yellow Vest 8th. The demonstrators from the regions, the French lower and middle classes, since Myret Zaki movement look like who are still prepared to occupy passag- Macron has not recognized the “social” (picture wikipedia) in the medium and es and roundabouts, also remain, because nature of the difficulties and the neces- long term? What President Macron has by no means “found sary rebalancing and he has not prepared are the political and economic options? the way back into their hearts”, as his press reserves at the expense of the richest for spokesman had hoped. But even these dem- this account. This 10 billion Euro account Who is currently the enemy of the French: onstrators know that their activities, already will therefore inevitably reappear in the Emmanuel Macron or Cherif Chekatt? demanding a lot from them, will only be form of savings in social benefits and the Macron’s concessions, Strasbourg assas- met with repression, since the government purchasing power of the workers. It will sination? Will these events weaken the has already agreed to everything it was pre- soon be clear to the public that what was yellow vest movement? Many of us sus- pared to accept. A more coordinated mo- given with one hand will be taken away pect that the Yellow Vest movement is in bilization to paralyse the country’s econo- by the other under the pretext of the 3% danger of scattering. Women, the elderly, my is currently highly unlikely, as it would Maastricht deficit rule. Then the anti-EU peaceful demonstrators – after the some- cost its initiators – at a time when the gen- mood in France will reach its peak, trans- times very harsh violence suffered by eral movement is weakening – too much in forming itself into an Italian-style scenar- some demonstrators and made visible by economic and human terms. Effective joint io that could well lead to a victory for the social networks – will be little inclined to action can only take place in a concerted “Rassemblement national” (party of Ma- jeopardise their physical integrity in the lightning fast action, otherwise it will be- rine Le Pen). face of increasingly harsh, armoured and come too expensive in the long run. In reality Marine Le Pen is by no means well-equipped security forces. Then, as The movement will undoubtedly con- inevitable. At the moment she seems to be the Christmas holidays approach, fathers tinue to remain vivid in the social net- the only one who can benefit at the ballot and mothers will hesitate to let their chil- works, as a permanent opposition. In this box from the yellow vest movement, but dren travel to Paris to demonstrate. respect, Facebook is an opponent of the continued on page 2 No 1 11 January 2019 Current Concerns Page 2 The industry of France in 1968 (map left) and 2008 (map right)– part of the active population in secondary branch (Industry and building trade) (maps ma) ”Yellow vests: Future scenario” social and economic dumping and that he has fallen sharply and is reflected in a re- continued from page 1 is willing to save wherever there is waste cord debt [2018: 2,300 billion euros, edi- (excessive state centralism, military spend- tor’s note]. In concrete terms a plutocratic that’s for lack of better things. Because it ing abroad). But would the electoral pro- system means that the financial elite gov- is said everywhere (whether by supporters cess allow this? This depends on the extent erns the country and that the preferences or opponents of the Yellow Vests) that one to which France has transformed itself into of the richest – whether in domestic or for- has little idea who could take over the presi- an oligarchic-plutocratic system. In 2008, eign policy or with regard to an elected dency after Macron. There would therefore the US republican political scientist Francis presidential candidate – clearly predomi- be no valid substitute because the demands Fukuyama showed that the USA had trans- nate. In this system, political decisions are of the Yellow Vests were so different. “They formed themselves into such a system. indeed a question of financial and person- have no programme”, they say. This trend also awaits the old Western nel support. In France, would a candidate That is completely wrong. The “pro- democracies: the inequality of riches is at – who, unlike Emmanuel Macron, does gramme” of the Yellow Vests is clear, the its highest level since the beginning of the not receive 14 million euros from inves- message is precise: the French want to pos- last century. And since the 1980s, pub- tors and bankers and could therefore ben- sess purchasing power. In which language lic assets have been massively transferred efit from little personal and financial sup- should this be expressed? A candidate would into the private sphere, mainly through port from the richest – also have a chance have every chance who would say today that privatizations. States are becoming poorer today? • he wants to support small and medium-sized and they have no longer sufficient resourc- Source: https://www.bilan.ch/opinions/myret-za- French workers, giving them back their pur- es to protect citizens at the lower end of ki/cette-fois-le-krach-est-social?fbclid=IwAR31W gbhKA3vRo2dRQjSLoL564xlq6IqHm637RjOYcVj chasing power and quality of life, protect- the scale. While France’s national wealth Az0Yhl4NeBpyCgo from 19.12.2018 ing them from excessive immigration and has increased considerably, public wealth (Translation: Current Concerns) Urgent search for an industrial policy! by Jacques Myard, political scientist, French politician, Mayor of Maisons-Laffitte, France The crisis of the within the framework of the single cur- Several recent cases recall this sad re- yellow vests move- rency. ality: ment is a deep cri- Wages, pensions, allowances, etc.