Yellow vests

[[File:2018-12-29 14-58-30 manif-GJ-Belfort.jpg|thumb|right|Yellow vest protest in Belfort, France.]]{{FrenchPolitics}}The '''yellow vests''' (also known as '''''gilets jaunes''''' in French) is a massive ongoing [[populist]] movement that started in [[France]] in late 2018, originally to protest the [[neoliberal]] policies of president [[Emmanuel Macron]].<ref>[https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/20/gilets-jaunes-yellow-vest-gas-tax-protest-france/ The Yellow Vests: Who they are and why their tax protest is a big deal] ''The Mercury News''. November 20<sup>th</sup>, 2018.</ref>

==Co-opted by the far right==
While the yellow vests includes volunteers from across the political spectrum, some [[far right]]ers have used this to push their own agenda.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-far-right-is-trying-to-co-opt-the-yellow-vests The Far Right Is Trying to Co-opt the Yellow Vests] ''The Daily Beast''. January 8<sup>th</sup>, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://newrepublic.com/article/152853/ugly-illiberal-anti-semitic-heart-yellow-vest-movement The Ugly, Illiberal, Anti-Semitic Heart of the Yellow Vest Movement] ''New Republic''. January 7<sup>th</sup>, 2019.</ref>

[[Neo-Nazis]] and [[Antisemitism|anti-semites]] seized this movement for their own nefarious [[racist]] purposes.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Antisemitism-among-Yellow-Vest-protesters-demoralizes-Frances-Jews-577261/amp Antisemitism among yellow vest protestors demoralizes France's Jews] ''The Jerusalem Post''. January 14<sup>th</sup>, 2019.</ref> Just look at the glowing endorsements by the knuckle draggers back at the [[Daily Stormer]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190202214505/https://dailystormer.name/macron-speaks-out-yellow-vests-are-very-bad-goys/ Macron Speaks Out! 'Yellow Vests Are Very Bad Goys!'] by Roy Batty (January 3, 2019) ''Daily Stormer'' (archived from February 2, 2019).</ref>

In [[Chile]], the tiny fraction of people who oppose the ongoing anti-capitalist protests against the [[Sebastián Piñera|Piñera]] regime (mostly reactionaries, anti-[[Venezuela|Venezuelan]] conspiracy theorists, and [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] apologists like John Cobin, the American far right "[[libertarian]]" and [[neo-Confederate]] [[terrorist]] who opened fire on a group of peaceful Chilean demonstrators)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/11/john-cobin-chile-shooting-protesters-video/ A Californian economist loves neoliberalism. When Chileans started protesting it, he opened fire on them.] ''The Washington Post''. November 11, 2019.</ref> have adopted the yellow vest as their symbol.<ref>[https://www.eldesconcierto.cl/2019/11/10/hay-que-desarticular-a-kast-y-a-los-chalecos-amarillos/ Hay que desarticular a Kast y a los "chalecos amarillos" (Kast and the "yellow vests" must be disbanded)] by Francisco Mendez. ''El Desconcierto''. November 10, 2019.</ref>

==Possible foreign influence==
It is unclear how organic the movement has been, with some suggestion of [[Russia|the Kremlin's]] involvement.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190914231913/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-08/pro-russia-social-media-takes-aim-at-macron-as-yellow-vests-rage] Carol Matlack
and Robert Williams, "France to probe possible Russian influence on Yellow Vest riots," ''Bloomberg'', Dec. 7, 2018, accessed Sep. 14, 2019.</ref> So rather than [[astroturf]], this may be more of a ''yellow snow'' movement.

==Demands of the yellow vests==
The yellow vest's demands are mostly supporting a stronger [[welfare state]]. They are, of course, opposed to the gas [[taxes]] which caused the movement to start, and they oppose the neoliberal reforms of Macron and the governments before him. They also support a popular referendum, a proposal largely influenced by Etienne Chouard, a far-left internet activist and supporter of [[Demarchy|sortition]] of political rulers.

==Spreading beyond French borders==
The yellow vests also inspired other similar protests to occur in [[Belgium]],
[[Bulgaria]], Burkina Faso, [[Canada]], Central African Republic, [[Croatia]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], [[Iraq]], [[Ireland]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Netherlands]], [[Pakistan]], [[Portugal]], [[Russia]], [[Serbia]], [[Taiwan]], [[Turkey]], and the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{wpa|Yellow vests movement}}</ref>

==References==
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