A Talk by Laurent Jeanpierre

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France is experiencing a multiplication of protest movements, of which the so-called Yellow Vest movement in 2018-2019 is only the most original. I participated in this movement and observed directly or indirectly other movements of the last decade as well as the grievances collected by the French government from its population during the yellow vest movement (in “Cahiers” that recalled, albeit quite differently, those of the French Revolution). The result is a picture of French complaints and protests and their recent evolution. Here, we present a few features (and ask whether they can be found in other countries). Current French protests are more territorial, more critical of official organizations and, more focused on the sphere of reproduction (health, education, ecology).  The failure of political parties to take up these complaints may well be one of the main reasons for the lasting difficulties of the Left in France. Electoral politics and protest politics are increasingly dissociated. Anger is becoming autonomous.

Laurent Jeanpierre is political scientist, Professor of Political Science at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and co-author of Une Histoire Globale des Révolutions.