Act VII Yellow Vests is preparing despite the shortness of movement. Is it a temporary reduction of regime before a return after the end of the year holidays?
Despite an “act VI” that mobilized little and the holiday season, the ” yellow vests ” call for a seventh consecutive Saturday actions with rallies planned especially in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse or Bordeaux.
« Gilets Jaunes », ce samedi, c’est une nouvelle fois encore, l’occasion de montrer à tous, à quel point nous sommes unis et déterminés à obtenir ce que nous réclamons depuis maintenant 7 semaines.
Luttons ensemble lors cet Acte 7 !! 👊#GiletsJaunes #29Décembre #Acte7 pic.twitter.com/vgW4dfw2uO— Gilets Jaunes Paris 📆 31/12✌️#ONLR #Acte8 (@GiletsJaunesGo) 28 December 2018
The movement, which has lasted for a month and a half, has decreased significantly in recent weeks: 38,600 demonstrators in France on December 22, against 66,000 a week earlier and 282,000 for the first day of mobilization on November 17, according to government figures.
But for a large part of the movement, this drop is due to the holidays before a very strong recovery in January.
“The movement is not off”
“Everyone needs to understand that we decided not to stop. The movement is not extinguished, “said AFP Thierry, 51, coachbuilder Rive-de-Gier (Loire), denouncing a very uneven distribution of” wealth “of France.
Monica Piazza de Valencia, 22, says she also fight for equality:
“We are not against taxes, taxes … But it is not possible, after a while, that it is always the same who pay and everything is increased for us.”
For this new day of action, the “yellow vests” are more discreet on the social networks that serve as platforms for exchange since the beginning of the movement. To surprise the forces of the order in particular, the actions and the places of gathering are now announced at the last minute.
In Bordeaux, where clashes have occurred in recent weeks, the rally will leave the Place de la Bourse but the destination has not been specified. Several public sites (libraries, museums, gardens …) are closed.
The Facebook page “Gilets Jaunes Toulouse” has called its supporters to an “Act VII: Happy Holidays Macron” in the center of the pink city. In Pau, a march must be organised in the middle of the morning.
Roundabout Evacuations
In Marseille, where a large rally is scheduled from 10am with Priscilla Ludosky, figure of the movement that launched the petition against rising fuel prices, different groups of “yellow vests” will speak.
“The idea is not to bring all these groups together within the same structure, but rather to allow the different points of view to express themselves,” said Chantal Moraud, coordinator of the movement for the department. , which announces the arrival of groups from Fos-sur-Mer, La Ciotat, Salon-de-Provence, Miramas or Vitrolles.
But on the ground, the actions fade: this week, the police continued the evacuations of roundabout and according to a source close, those still occupied are the object of a “symbolic presence” .
Some 2500 people were mobilised daily in recent days against 4000 the previous week, according to the same source.
Forty of them tried Thursday to invest Fort Brégançon, the summer residence of Presidents of the Republic.
However some “yellow vests” have also in focus the evening of the eve. Several gatherings are expected the night of New Year’s Eve, especially on the Aquitaine bridge in Bordeaux, or on the Champs-Elysees in Paris where traditionally meet a few thousand Parisians and tourists for the passage of the New Year.
Ten dead since the beginning of the movement
Since the beginning of the movement in November, 10 people have been killed on blocking points and more than 1,500 demonstrators have been injured on roundabouts or during demonstrations, including about 50 seriously.
The Inspectorate General of the National Police (IGPN), the police of the police, has been seized by the justice of 48 cases of police violence presumed during demonstrations of “yellow vests” and high school students, said Friday the ministry of the interior.
