[Totoradio]

It's very complicated to explain because it's not a "traditional" movement run by a leader/political party/union. Protesters are all over the political spectrum.

It's the combination of (real and/or perceived):

- rise of inequalities

- new taxes (including the carbon tax)

- removal of taxes impacting only the rich

- sentiment of neglect of the rural areas by the government

- disdain for lower classes by Macron

- lower purchasing power for low/middle class

and probably some other stuff. It's really an aggregation of all that. Add the fact that there is no leader, no precise demands, this makes a nightmare for the government to fix or contain.

[seren]

And maybe interesting, or dangerous depending on the point of view, amongst the rioters you got both far-left and far-right movements on the same side, which is something that does not happen that often.

[baq]

it'd be helpful to explain what far right and far left mean in the context of France, as I doubt it's the same thing as in e.g. USA.

[Totoradio]

Far left would be anarchists, black-blocs, and a few communists in there too.

Far right would be openly pro-nazi, or Vichy nostalgic small organizations like Oeuvre Française and other dissolved and then formed again groups. Add unaffiliated fascist skinheads in the mix.

Then again, almost every nuance of the spectrum between those two is represented in the protesters.

[ocschwar]

Right now the right wing media in the US is gleefully attributing the protests primarily to the carbon tax.