To hear the protesters tell it, they’re marching through
the streets to fight back against rising fuel prices and
the high cost of living in the country. Beyond that,
though, it’s an ideological free-for-all. Fights have
also been witnessed among demonstrators, and some have
sent death threats to other protesters.
In other words, there are a large number of different groups protesting under the same banner. There is not an identifiable leader articulating a single agenda that can be proven or disproven.
Certainly, fuel taxes in Europe are much higher than in America; across the EU they vary from 51% to 68%, with France at 64% [1].
Other things in the article, like anti-vaxxers and a theory the french constitution has been invalidated, seem much less likely - but when the entire movement is just a leaderless movement of people posting in facebook groups, where do you draw the line between "the rioters' complaints" and a handful of fools among the many protesters?
If the rioters were protesting racism or homophobia, no one in the media (or HN) would challenge them.
Since the rioters are protesting a Green Tax, the media (and HN) concludes that Facebook, Russia, or a general lack of cognitive ability among the French working class must be the cause.
Look no further than the discussion yesterday re: "Is France losing its first information war?" to see all the "enlightened" HN posters discuss how free expression should be limited if it runs contrary to their worldview (characterized as "restricting the public's potential to be misinformed")...the same posters of course are constantly aghast at censorship in China
Its really scary to see hackers become advocates for censorship
Certainly, fuel taxes in Europe are much higher than in America; across the EU they vary from 51% to 68%, with France at 64% [1].
Other things in the article, like anti-vaxxers and a theory the french constitution has been invalidated, seem much less likely - but when the entire movement is just a leaderless movement of people posting in facebook groups, where do you draw the line between "the rioters' complaints" and a handful of fools among the many protesters?
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/03/are-the-french...