With Paris Ablaze Macron Gets His Ass Handed To Him

Russian Nobel Prize winner for literature, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, “You only have power over people as long as you don’t take everything away from them.  But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power─he’s free again.”

France is experiencing the kind of unrest that many agree is the worst since 1968 as the population seems to be dividing into those who prosper and those who struggle to keep their heads above water. For many struggling French citizens, a car is not a luxury or an indulgence but a precondition of being able to work.

The Macron Administration’s increase in the country’s fuel tax was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  The proposed fuel tax would cost the average Jacques hundreds of Euros a year.  Monsieur Macron has never personally experienced the need to make ends meet on a budget already stretched to the max.  The riots have evolved into a broader anti-Macron uprising.  Little Napoleon’s approval rating fell to 23% in a poll conducted late last week.  That’s down 6 points from the previous month.

You’ll recall last month France’s little egomaniac gave a smug lecture to President Trump during the Centennial of World War I. Speaking at the Arc de Triomphe, Macron suggested nationalism could lead to the same death and devastation seen during that war.

“Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.  I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface. They are ready to wreak chaos and death. History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again.”

It is becoming harder for the EU’s “Obama” to present himself on the world stage as a progressive champion who will lead the fight against populism and nationalism if barricades are burning in Paris and protestors slam his government as an arrogant elite.

After his return from the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Macron surveyed the damage caused by gilet jaunes [yellow vests] at the Arc de Triomphe as street cleaners worked to scrub away graffiti urging:  “Macron Demission” [resign]. 

They needn’t have bothered. A small crowd gathered to shout it at Macron anyway.  Someone even managed to egg him.

The underlying problem in France is the same one faced by many countries, some to an even greater extent: namely of budgets, both public and private, that are never balanced, and of the consumption of more than is produced. 

Macron had vowed to “stay the course without ceding to demagogy.” But the gilets jaunes have provoked a surprise crisis that will undoubtedly define his presidency. As they persist, he is increasingly desperate to appease them, even at a loss of revenues and face. On Tuesday, Édouard Philippe, the Prime Minister, announced a raft of conciliatory measures, including a six-month suspension of gas taxes, a promise to make sure that electricity prices don’t go up over the winter and a “national debate” on issues of taxation and expenditure. “No tax is worth endangering the unity of the nation,” he said.

The European Parliamentary elections are coming up in May of 2019.  Macron knows the elections will be a referendum not only on him, but also on the values of globalism, centrism and environmentalism, of which he has positioned himself as an international defender.

I am glad that my friend @EmmanuelMacron and the protestors in Paris have agreed with the conclusion I reached two years ago. The Paris Agreement is fatally flawed because it raises the price of energy for responsible countries while whitewashing some of the worst polluters....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2018

UPDATE:  Welcome readers of Bad Blue Uncensored News.  We are grateful to Doug Ross for linking to this post.