Yellow Vest Movement (France)

Abstract

The Yellow Vest (YV) movement originated in a Facebook group launched in January 2018 and took off in November of the same year. Since then, more than 50,000 demonstrations and gatherings have been counted, either in the form of occupying and blocking roundabouts, or in street demonstrations. Protests have spread all over the region, giving rise to riotous scenes, unprecedented in the police repression they triggered. This has led to a mobilization, considerable and hitherto unseen in many respects: this movement sprang from calls on the internet, with no external support. It was noteworthy in its duration, its territorial scope, its occurrence in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and its blunt refusal of all leadership. While the participants were in a variety of socioeconomic positions, the vast majority of them had, until that point, been uninvolved in any political, union, or group activity, including voting.