[Rugoz]

I was talking about the French deploying the military to suppress demonstrations.

As an American, it would almost be unheard of for that to happen here, but after looking it up, I guess it is within the jurisdiction of the National Gendarmerie to be deployed to maintain public order, just as it is Iran's Revolutionary guard.

So in that sense, I wonder how much difference there would be between protesting in Iran and France.

The Gendarmerie nationale is a police force. They use riot gear and not live ammunition.

[Hindsite]

I have not been reading much news this past week, but I have been looking for news coverage of the protests, and to me it seems pretty muted here in the US.

I saw some coverage of it on FOX news.

[Sivad]

Clinton Minion's Discussion Of Yellow Vest Protest Shows How Out Of Touch They Are

Degenerate liberal trash.

[JohnRawls]

I was talking about the French deploying the military to suppress demonstrations.

As an American, it would almost be unheard of for that to happen here, but after looking it up, I guess it is within the jurisdiction of the National Gendarmerie to be deployed to maintain public order, just as it is Iran's Revolutionary guard.

So in that sense, I wonder how much difference there would be between protesting in Iran and France.

Pretty much the same honestly. When we do it, it is okay. When somebody else does it, it is "genocide" and suppression of "popular opinion". (I mean corporations own the media in the US, so they are the de facto censor of news. Be it Fox, CNN, ABC, Breitbart etc)

The reason it is not covered much in the US is because US is guilty of the same but 5x times. Cutting taxes on the rich and increasing them on the middle class. US media doesn't want you to get any ideas.

Look at Trumps latest tax cut as an example. It was planned as a Tax cut for the middle class but Trump was kinda forced to follow with the regular bullshit(Tax cut for the Copros and top 1-5%) with a promise that the R party will let him cut taxes for the middle class later. Well, they lied. His 2nd tax cut is basically canceled and not really talked about anymore.

This demonstration is actually something along the lines of "Drain the Swamp" which you salivate so much about. (Just to clarify, we are talking about the French swamp and not some imaginary EU swamp. EU had nothing to do with the tax hike)

[Beren]

I wonder how much difference there would be between protesting in Iran and France.

You can protest in France peacefully. I also wonder whether how Trump or Putin would react if the same happened in D.C. or Moscow. They must be especially happy about this perfectly timed spontaneous rebellion happening in France while allying with MBS to water down a climate pledge in the UN.

[AFAIK]

Down with the corrupt neoliberal elitists. Out of touch with reality. Macron should be ousted.

But they voted for him... no?

They voted for him when he was 1-on-1 against Le Pen. If he had widespread support he wouldn't have needed a second round of voting. And where do people get the idea a democracy is where you get to cast a ballot once every few years and shut the fuck up the rest of the time? Authoritarian states work that why but open societies are supposed to welcome dissent, protest and freedom of speech.

This is just another example of the breakdown of executive authority. As I've said before expecting one person to adequately represent a city of 10 million or a nation of 80 million all by themselves is ridiculous.

[One Degree]

I hate to think it, but based upon what I see being done to Trump and Brexit, the globalist elite are going to win unless we actually attack the palaces and behead the kings. The problem with this is conservatives aren’t revolutionaries. The wrong people will be the leaders.
France is a example. We need to see who steps up to lead a tax revolt into a political revolt, if anyone. How do you rally people to lead a revolution who want to be left alone?

[Rugoz]

And where do people get the idea a democracy is where you get to cast a ballot once every few years and shut the fuck up the rest of the time?

Because that's how representative democracy works?

People can protest all day long, but politicians are not supposed to act on it unless it improves their reelection chances.

[Sivad]

Because that's how representative democracy works?

People can protest all day long, but politicians are not supposed to act on it unless it improves their reelection chances.

Any country that doesn't have recall is anti-democratic. Citizens should be able to recall their elected officials at any time for any reason. Citizens should also be able to overturn legislation at any time for any reason, or initiate legislation at any time.

Powers Reserved to the People

Initiative, referendum, and recall are three powers reserved to enable the voters, by petition, to propose or repeal legislation or to remove an elected official from office.

[Rancid]

Any country that doesn't have recall is anti-democratic. Citizens should be able to recall their elected officials at any time for any reason. Citizens should also be able to overturn legislation at any time for any reason, or initiate legislation at any time.

I agree about the elected officials part. I don't believe that Citizens should be able to overturn legislation though. I believe representative governments are better, not direct democracies.

[Rugoz]

Any country that doesn't have recall is anti-democratic. Citizens should be able to recall their elected officials at any time for any reason. Citizens should also be able to overturn legislation at any time for any reason, or initiate legislation at any time.

Actually the only power people need is the power to rewrite the constitution.

[Ter]

Nobody in power, be they regularly elected or dictators, kings or presidents, like to see people running angry in the streets.
It hurts the economy, the prestige of the persons in power, and it could lead to a violent coup.

[One Degree]

The masses are gullible and power corrupts representatives. It is a problem we currently don’t have a solution to. A balance between them is the best we can do.

[skinster]

I have not been reading much news this past week, but I have been looking for news coverage of the protests, and to me it seems pretty muted here in the US.

I think it's pretty much the same here. I guess MSM corporations don't want to give people the ideas.

I hear similar protests have spread to Brussels and The Netherlands.

[Albert]

Look at him.

He seems to be bending the knee further. Seems like the French government knows they are in big trouble. It seems there is a possibility he will step down.

[Albert]

[Kaiserschmarrn]

Best take so far:

[maz]

Look at him.

He seems to be bending the knee further. Seems like the French government knows they are in big trouble. It seems there is a possibility he will step down.

It get the feeling that his handlers were training him all weekend for this address while he was hiding from the public

[Ter]

Egypt curbs yellow vest sales over fears of copycat protests

Egyptian authorities have quietly introduced restrictions on the sale of yellow reflective vests, fearing opponents might attempt to copy French protesters during next month’s anniversary of the 2011 popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, security officials and retailers said Monday.

They said industrial safety equipment dealers have been instructed not to sell yellow vests to walk-in buyers and to restrict business to wholesale sales to verified companies, but only after securing police permission. They were told offenders would be punished, the officials said without elaborating.

Six retailers in a Cairo downtown area where industrial safety stores are concentrated said they were no longer selling yellow vests. Two declined to sell them, giving no explanation, but the remaining four told The Associated Press they were told not to by police.

“They seem not to want anyone to do what they are doing in France,” said one retailer. “The police came here a few days back and told us to stop selling them. When we asked why, they said they were acting on instructions,” said another. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Security officials said the restrictions would remain in force until the end of January. They said industrial safety product importers and wholesale merchants were summoned to a meeting with senior police officers in Cairo this week and informed of the rules.

The officials, who have first-hand knowledge of the measures, spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media. Repeated calls and messages to the spokesman of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, to seek comment went unanswered.

The move showcases the depth of the Egyptian government’s concern with security. The past two years, Egyptian authorities clamped down heavily, deploying police and soldiers across the country, to prevent any marches to commemorate the January 25 anniversary of the start of the 2011 uprising. Scores were killed and wounded in clashes during the uprising anniversaries in years before that.

The yellow vests worn by French protesters have become the symbol of the wave of demonstrations that began in November against a rise in fuel taxes but mushroomed to include a range of demands, including the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.

Egyptian media coverage of the unrest has emphasized the ensuing riots, looting and arson in Paris, echoing President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s frequent refrain that street action leads to chaos. He recently outright denounced for the first time the 2011 uprising, saying it plunged the country into economic and political turmoil.

Egypt has virtually banned protests, and the general-turned-president Sissi often warns that his tough hand ensuring stability is necessary, pointing to war and destruction in Syria, Yemen and Libya as the alternative. His emphasis on security has taken on added significance amid his ambitious program to reform the economy, which has unleashed steep price hikes, hitting the middle class hard.

Since Sissi rose to office in 2014, there have been no significant protests. Still, the government is constantly wary they could return, especially given that the 2011 protests erupted as part of a chain reaction, inspired by Tunisia’s “Arab Spring” uprising.

Rights lawyer Gamal Eid said his Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information has seen a recent spike in small “social protests,” with the privatization of state-owned enterprises the main issue.
“The government here is talking up its achievements, but it fears a backlash because ordinary people have yet to tangibly benefit from the mega projects underway,” said Eid, who is banned by authorities from traveling while his group’s online site is blocked by the government.

Negad Borai, another rights lawyer, said the government could delay expected price hikes next year “to avoid protests inspired by what’s happening in France.”

Sissi led the military’s 2013 ouster of a freely elected but divisive president. He was elected in 2014 and, earlier this year, won a second-term, running virtually unopposed. He has overseen the largest crackdown on critics seen in Egypt in living memory, jailing thousands of Islamists along with pro-democracy activists, reversing freedoms won in the 2011 uprising, silencing critics and placing draconian rules on rights groups.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-cur ... -protests/

No yellow vests in Egypt! lol
Al Sissi is clever.

[Eauz]

One doesn't need a yellow vest in order to protest.