Worst riot in a decade engulfs Paris; Macron vows action

One thing Americans and the French agree on: we would rather destroy our children's future than pay a few more cents for a gallon of gas.

@Crazy Joe - I understand your point about Climate Change however this tax has little to do with Climate Change.

The fuel tax issue in France and the U.S. is not at all apples and oranges. In the U.S. fuel taxes are dedicated to state and federal highway funds and it is not legal to use fuel tax revenue to contribute to the general treasury.

In France fuel taxes are much higher and make up nearly 11 percent of the central government's general revenues, not including social security contributions. Also the tools for French highways are high (I have driven in France quite frequently the last 3 years).

Considering this along with other taxes in France I think the protesters have a very righteous cause.

This tax is highly regressive and hits the middle and lower classes hard and has little or no impact on the elite.

France offers generous tax incentives for solar panels and other cleans energies but it also has high debt. A few cents more on diesel fuel helps reduce the deficit while encouraging people to buy cars that burn cleaner energy. The protesters can put it where the sun don’t shine!

Crazy Joe. I understand your thoughts but also empathize with the protesters. Yes France has a debt problem, created by the elite and political class and now they want to squeeze more out of the population with a regressive tax to fix this problem.

If they could find a way to make this tax less regressive then I would see your point. Find a way to move this tax to the rich and elite who typically contribute a massively exponentially higher amount to the climate problem than the guy trying to drive to work in the morning and support his family.

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the violence from the G20 summit in Argentina, saying those who attacked police and vandalized the Arc de Triomphe will be "held responsible for their acts." He said he will hold an emergency government meeting Sunday on the protests.

Maybe his private bodyguards can beat them up? Or maybe Macron and his inept party can be held responsible for his government's horrible policies? Increasingly seen as the president of the rich, his popularity is far lower than Trump's, at 26% according to the Guardian. He's your typical neoliberal loser--preaching austerity (pension cuts and regressive taxes for most) but offering generous measures to reward his patrons, a flat tax on capital for example.

No wonder many think Le Pen and the National Rally will start polling higher sooner rather later. You may not like populism but its rise is directly linked to the repeated failures and arrogance of neoliberals like Macron.

It seems that they love more violence rather protesting.

Macron is most certainly ‘un loup déguisé en mouton’presiding over a state where rules and regulations force many young adults to leave France for work abroad.

“French police should restrain themselves and allow citizens to protest.” and

“It seems that they love more violence rather protesting.”

Yup. You got that right. Heck, in my country they went nuts too when Trump won the election. Those Antifa anarchists.

Berkley. the cradle of free speech / protest, go berserk whenever conservative speakers go their to exercise their 1st amendment.

When a few troublemakers and then the anarchists take over a legitimate protest, things can turn nasty very quickly.

kurisupisuToday  11:12 am JST rules and regulations force many young adults to leave France for work abroad.

Which rules and regulations might they be ?

Which rules and regulations might they be?

I'd say pretty much the entire code du travail and unemployment benefit system. French youth unemployment is hovering at a whopping 22%.

Switzerland next door enjoys a higher standard of living, higher wages, lower taxes and a youth unemployment rate of only 3% (basically full employment). Their labour laws don't even stipulate a minimum wage. Laissez-faire beats state regulation everytime.

Nobody is "forced" to leave France. That's the part I objected to. Unemployment is so high because people are often better off on the social than taking low paid jobs. That there aren't jobs in France is total and utter fallacy - I'm hiring at the minute and like all employers having difficulty finding staff that can actually be bothered to get out of bed.

Other than that I agree with your points on the nanny state. The only thing that tickled me about this movement was them using the yellow vests that mummy made it obligatory to carry.

Why damage the property of other french citizens? Go protest at parliament.

Youth unemployment rate in France September 2018 - 21.5%.

General unemployment rate in France August 2018 - 9.3%.

Been that way for a while.

9.3% seems very high for a developed democracy. Most are lurking around 2 - 6%. Then again do they all use the same method to measure? No.

Need reforms. Getting rid of Macron wont be a positive move imo. He actually is a reformer France needs.

9.3% seems very high for a developed democracy. Most are lurking around 2 - 6%. Then again do they all use the same method to measure? No.

Except in Europe where 5-9 is the norm. And then you only move up from thanking the EU Gods not to live in Italy, Spain and Greece.

Strong man Macaron will handle. Just "storm in a teacup."