Yellow vests protests

The yellow vests protests or yellow-jacket protests (French: Mouvement des gilets jaunes, pronounced [muvmɑ̃ de ʒilɛ ʒon]) were a series of populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018 and ended on 28 June 2020.

After an online petition posted in May 2018 had attracted nearly one million signatures, mass demonstrations began on 17 November. The movement was initially motivated by rising crude oil and fuel prices, a high cost of living, and economic inequality. The movement argued that a disproportionate burden of taxation in France was falling on the working and middle classes, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. The protesters called for lower fuel taxes, a reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth and a minimum wage increase, among other things. On 29 November 2018, a list of 42 demands was made public and went viral on social media, becoming a de facto structuring basis for the movement. The demands covered a wide range of topics, mostly related to democracy and social and fiscal justice. Some demanded the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron. The protests were marred by violence between different groups (far right and black bloc) and significant property damage, which in turn led to police repression. Participation in the weekly protests diminished and eventually ended entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, although minor protests continued after health restrictions were lifted.

The movement was supported primarily by populists on both sides of the political spectrum, but rarely by moderates. According to one poll, few of those protesting had voted for Macron in the 2017 presidential election; many had shown political alienation by not voting, or had voted for far-right or far-left candidates. Support for the movement reached a high of 75% in favour at its beginning, with even higher numbers in rural and peri-urban areas. Yellow high-visibility vests, which French law requires all drivers to have in their vehicles and to wear outside their vehicle during emergency situations, were chosen as "a unifying thread and call to arms" because of their convenience, visibility, ubiquity, and association with working-class industries. The protests involved demonstrations and the blocking of roads and fuel depots, sometimes developing into major riots, described as the most violent since May 68. The police action, resulting in multiple incidents of loss of limb, was criticized by politicians and international media, particularly in relation to the use of blast balls. About 3 million people participated in the movement and the yellow vest was adopted as a protest symbol around the world.