The country which gave the world the revolution to establish equality, liberty and fraternity is in turmoil once more.
That serene image of the quiet French suburban twilight with some cheese and a drink is upended with millions on the street, demanding social change: more teachers plus a concerted government move to bring down the price of essentials.
France set up the template for the social revolution to establish rights of the common person and, centuries later, the same country seems to be having trouble enforcing the revolution principles dating back to 1789.
Since the late 19th century, France has seen several seismic changes, 1830, 1848 and the all encompassing 1968, at the height of the counter-culture movement.
There was also a botched attempt at change in 1832, immortalized in the book Les Miserables.
In 2018, the Gilet Jaunes or the Yellow Vest Movement rocked France because of discontentment among the general people over rocketing cost of living.
Interestingly, the current protests, which began as a demand for more teachers, have now snowballed to include grievances of the masses over the same issue – spike in living expenses.
Although the French government made concessions and declared to deploy 3000 additional teachers, the movement continues with no signs of a peaceful conclusion in sight.
What may puzzle many is the intensity of the protests plus the outpour of so much rage which triggered widespread vandalism and destruction.
For the answer, we need to go back to 2018, a period before Covid-19 changed the world.
A continuation of the 2018 Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest Movement)
The current outpour of resentment towards the government can be traced to 2018 when the Yellow Vest movement spread across France, demanding an end to social inequality and a reduction in the price of essentials.
That movement rattled the French government then, getting coverage by all international media, but then Covid came to suspend everything.
World went into Covid induced stasis.
Cities and towns shut down, the protests lost momentum and soon, in the face of the global pandemic, all was forgotten.
Well, not forgotten, but shelved.
Meanwhile, the disgruntlement festered and the recent protest over shortage of teachers became the trigger.
Or we may call it the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Looking at French history, we find that over the centuries, the country has often risen against the establishment with the one in 1968 often described as the defining social movement, shaping the basis of French social ethos.
To understand the current movement, a look back to the year 1968 is also essential because that change came in a time when the world was divided over two distinctly delineated ideologies as the spectre of a nuclear Armageddon hung over mankind.
In the late sixties, the Cold War race reached a crescendo with both Capitalism and Communism locked in a battle for supremacy in all areas of life: sport, science, culture, lifestyle and definitely, arms.
But USA’s intervention in Vietnam which drew condemnation across the world plus a strong global anti-imperial sentiment worked to create a halo over Communism, seducing millions of young across continents to tilt to the left.
The movement in France 1968 was for social justice – a call for an egalitarian society where disparity would reduce topped with a vocal denunciation of orthodox social tenets.
Such was the intensity of the movement that Charels de Gaulle, briefly left France to stay at a French military base in West Germany.
This demand to end social division can trace its roots to 1789 when the first revolution convulsed France.
Coming back to 2026 and the call for bringing down prices of everyday items, the underlying principle is again the need to reduce the gap between the wealthy and the ordinary person.
Arguably, all French movements aimed to trigger reforms so the lives of the masses would become better.
Even in the failed 1832 rising, the spark was caused by a spread of Cholera, which was killing people in thousands and a pervasive disenchantment with the government’s failure to check poverty.
Force is futile, dialogue is the only way ahead
If we look at the history of the world in the last 20 years, the rise of the young and the fall of the seemingly ensconced governments become too pronounced to ignore.
For comparison, we only need to look at Bangladesh in July-Aug 2024.
A government which had become hubristic, dogmatic and, to a large extent, estranged from the masses, resorted to force to suppress the young, which, predictably, backfired.
Batons, tear gas and guns won’t silence modern day young because of three things: 1. Their concerns/grievances are genuine, 2. Society wants/needs change and 3. Government rhetoric is usually hollow, often lacking credibility.
The worry is that while a large segment of a social uprising is demanding long-term constructive change, some unruly elements exploit the unrest to loot, destroy and burn.
Granted, social movements wanting transformation are never smooth and there will be repercussions, but the government facing such a situation should immediately take an emollient stance to open dialogue for comprehensive talks.
With France in convulsion, the question of the hour: will the nationwide movement topple the establishment?
France only has to look at recent history and especially Bangladesh of July Aug 2024 and then Nepal to get an idea as to what can happen if brutal crackdown is adopted as the only solution.
Hopefully, current tensions will ease in the future, perhaps after more concessions are made but once the dust settles, France needs to assess why there is so much angst and anger among the young.
In recent years, several countries have experienced youth triggered social uprisings with most managing to trigger striking change.
Correct me if I am wrong but the ‘idee de jour’: stand up to governments to demand the best for the rest.
Lest we forget, what French philosopher Voltaire said: “Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.”
