Inevitably, France’s gilets jaunes protesters debate the metaphysics of roundabouts
It’s a different sort of revolution
WHEN HISTORY comes to study the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets), two symbols will mark their cause. One is the high-visibility jacket that French law requires motorists to carry in case of accident, and is now a uniform of protest. The other is the roundabout.
It was on ronds-points across France that the gilets jaunes first gathered to protest against a rise in green taxes on motor fuel. It is at the country’s most famous one, the Place de l’Etoile in Paris, that protesters have converged for their weekend revolts. President Emmanuel Macron spoke of the “distress on so many roundabouts”. With their blazing fires, makeshift camps and festive tinsel, the occupied roundabouts have become places of muscular resistance and hubs of cheerful, defiant solidarity.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "To the roundabouts"
Europe December 22nd 2018
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- Inevitably, France’s gilets jaunes protesters debate the metaphysics of roundabouts
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From the December 22nd 2018 edition
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