France’s gilets jaunes protesters are hurting President Macron
Struggling workers are angry at a fuel-tax hike
“WE’RE NOT blocking the traffic, just filtering it,” declares Loup, a 64-year-old former education assistant, who has a hand in each pocket and a silver ring in each ear. In his high-visibility jacket, from which the gilets jaunes (“yellow vests”) movement gets its name, he and a dozen others are manning a protest at a roundabout outside Evreux, in rural southern Normandy. On the muddy ground, a fire of wooden crates is blazing, and bags of croissants are piled up on a camping table. Protesters have blocked off one lane of the road, yet passing motorists hoot their horns not in anger but in support.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “High visibility”
Europe December 1st 2018
More from Europe
Russian pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians
Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy