[recrof]

> I see why Vue was created, but I don't see why it's still around.

React does not have low barrier entry. you can't just open notepad, edit blank index.html, include react.js via script tag and tinker with your html in 10 minutes to create simple widget - you need additional tooling, typescript compiler, etc. Vue is for people who used jQuery before and want to go reactive in shortest time possible.

[s_y_n_t_a_x]

Yes it does. https://reactjs.org/docs/add-react-to-a-website.html

You can choose how much React you want. You don't need tooling or JSX even.