Yellow vests protests
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Yellow Vests' end Macron's Green Revolution."--Sholem Stein |
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The Gilets jaunes protests (Mouvement des gilets jaunes, literally yellow vests movement), sometimes called the new French Revolution, is a protest movement in France and in Belgium that began on Saturday, 17 November 2018. The "yellow vests" blocked roads and caused traffic chaos. The demonstration arose from anger over rising fuel prices and taxes.
Fuel prices
The protest began at the end of October 2018 with an online petition. The group constituted around this petition then protested against an increase in fuel prices they considered excessive, stating that this increase was due to the increase in taxes.
According to the French Union of Petroleum Industries, the price of lead-free 95 (SP95 - E10) and diesel fuel per litre increased by +14% and +22% respectively between October 2017 and October 2018. However, two thirds of this increase is due to the increase in world oil prices; only one third of the price increase comes from a tax increase. The tax increase had been 7.6 cents per litre on diesel and 3.9 cents on petrol in 2018, with a further increase of 6.5 cents on diesel and 2.9 cents on petrol planned for 1 January 2019.
The taxes collected on the sale of fuel are:
- the domestic consumption tax on energy products (TICPE). TICPE is not calculated based on the price of oil, but rather at a fixed rate by volume. Part of this tax, paid at the pump, goes to the regional governments, part goes to the national government. Since 2014, this tax has included a carbon component—increased each year—the goal of which is to reduce fossil-fuel consumption. The TICPE for diesel fuel has been raised more radically in 2017 and 2018 to bring to the same levels as the tax on petrol;
- value added tax (VAT), calculated on the sum of the price excluding tax and the amount of the TICPE. Its rate has been stable at 20% since 2014, after having been at 19.6% between 2000 and 2014.
This protest movement against fuel prices mainly concerns individuals, as a number of professions and activities benefit from partial or total exemptions from TICPE.
The protesters criticize Édouard Philippe's second government for making individuals support the bulk of the cost of the carbon tax. Those who may have chosen fossil-fuel based heating for their homes, and who have to drive into work because it is cheaper to live outside city centers had found themselves in a particular bind as the carbon tax got progressively ramped up to meet ecological objectives.
Truckers have been targeted by protestors and the trucking industry has made their displeasure with the situation known to the government in an open letter.
"Candidate of the guys who smoke cigarettes and who drive diesel" Benjamin Griveaux on Laurent Wauquiez
Benjamin Griveaux (spokesperson for Macron) called Laurent Wauquiez (Republican) the "candidate of the guys who smoke cigarettes and who drive diesel" ("gars qui fument des clopes et qui roulent au diesel)".
See also
- Austerity
- Carbon tax
- Fuel tax
- Gasoline and diesel usage and pricing
- Tax resistance
- Automobile dependency
- Basket of deplorables
- Bonnets Rouges
- Fuel protests in the United Kingdom
- 2017 Mexican protests
- Operation Sicilian Vespers (2012)
- Pitchfork protests, 2013 (Italy, Sicily)
- Climate justice
