Having started in November 2018, the Yellow Vest movement was a series of populist protests in France which lasted over a year, ending in early 2020. These protests were fuelled by general discontent with French president Emmanuel Macron as a result of rising fuel prices and an alleged increase in economic inequality, particularly between rural and urban areas.
The concrete manifesto, per se, of the movement was released on the 29th of November 2018 — a manifesto based on 42 inalienable demands made to the French government. This movement gained heavy attention worldwide due to the omnipresence of violence, particularly in Paris. Numerous looters who had no political affiliation to the movement participated in the riots nonetheless in order to raid and loot businesses.
This period of instability was mitigated when Macron cancelled the fuel tax he had imposed earlier in 2018, yet manifestations (of lower violence) continued until the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020. This contemporary crisis reflects an inflationary crisis throughout Europe which has only worsened with the pandemic and the recent war in Ukraine.
NOTE: This article will be updated soon.
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