Ideas and Values of the "Yellow Vests" Movement in France

Abstract

The "yellow vests" movement that stirred up France in November 2018 was a complete surprise not only for its leaders, but also for the whole world. Spontaneously arising in the depths of social networks from a simple petition for refusing to raise taxes on petroleum products, the horizontal, decentralized association of ordinary citizens has become the largest social protest movement since the student unrest of 1968 and the longest in the history of the Fifth Republic. It made it possible to reveal serious problems in the social organism of the country, about which it was not customary to speak publicly before, and to begin to conduct a comprehensive dialogue on them. It also created a new symbol of the struggle of the grassroots of society for social justice - the yellow vest, which has already acquired an international status. This work is devoted to the study of the ideas and values of the "yellow vests" movement in France. Based on the analysis of a wide range of scientific literature, the results of sociological surveys, statistical data and media materials, an attempt is made to identify and describe the ideas and values of the "yellow vests" movement. Achieving this goal allowed us to get an idea of what motivated people who regularly went to protest rallies in 2018 - 2019. The results of the study can be useful both in the study of modern social protest movements and for conducting a general assessment of the French domestic political situation during the current "five-year plan".