SINCE Nov. 17, France has been in revolt. Thousands of protesters in the cities as well as the countryside are trying to paralyze the nation. The movement is quite spontaneous. No political movement or union have admitted to have a hand in organizing the “yellow vests.”
The common French are dissatisfied with high taxes, poor public services, rising cost of commodities and reduced incomes. They blame the government for making ill use of their taxes.
With their slogan ral-le-bol (fed-up to the brim of the cup), they have decided to hold out.
Trust in their president is gone after only one year. They blame Emmanuel Macron of giving ten billion euros to the already rich. They want him to resign. The government, through Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of the Interior Christoph Castaner, have assured that they will not cede.
Violence broke out in Paris and all over the country. Police used tear gas, water cannons and batons.
Macron admitted that he has failed his duty to reconcile the people with their leaders. But what will happen if he resigns? A chaotic interregnum follows until another president is elected who can also not solve the problems of that society on the verge of collapse.
For me, the outmoded constitution of the Fifth Republic is to blame. General Charles de Gaulle tailor-fitted it to his authoritarian style in 1952 when he was the only politician of stature to cope with the then problems of his patrimony.
Guidelines of de Gaulle’s conservative moral ideal were religion, patriotism, and respect for authority. But the spirit of the people had shifted to secularism, individualism, and sexual revolution.
France is a highly centralized state with imperial Paris taking all the decisions and having them executed in the 12 regions, 96 departements, 327 arrondissements, 2,054 cantons down to the 36,658 communes. Small wonder that the French in the faraway places feel neglected and misrepresented.
Single demonstrators tell journalists: Nobody cares for us, no politician comes to hear our side. But since they have come together spontaneously they have no leaders, no interlocutors, no negotiators who could meet the authorities and formulate their grievances even if the latter were ready to dialogue.
The French admire and envy their neighbor Germany, which is federal and has a parliamentary system. Here reigns comparative social peace due to a dialogue between the population and their parliamentarians and thanks to a co-determination model in the enterprises alleviating differences between entrepreneurs and employees.
But up to now in France that near-at-hand idea of political reform for a sixth republic did not turn up yet. None of the serious journalists and wise scientists in the daily televised discussion rounds can imagine an alternative to the presidential unitary system.
The situation is very similar to the Philippines. The main difference is that the French protest while Filipinos indulge in injustices. And worse: They elect and reelect their tormentors and exploiters. (Erich Wannemacher)