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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Protests In France Turn Ugly

    Protests In France Turn Ugly

    Over the past few weeks there has been violence, riots, and protests due to rising fuel taxes. This past weekend, Saturday December 1st, the tension between the residents and the French Government snapped resulting in the gathering of thousands of protesters in the streets of Paris.

    The violent protests in Paris are ironically fueled by the tax hikes on fuel such as diesel and gasoline due to the government’s proposed carbon tax designed to improve its environmental credentials. Objectors wearing neon yellow vests (gilets jaunes) have blocked fuel depots and highways.

    On the Saturday of December 1st when the protests turned into riots French armed forces and police officers began to uses stun grenades, water cannons, and eventually tear gas. Frances Interior Ministry said it had deployed 30,000 fire fighters, 37,000 police officers, and 30,000 gendarmes (a branch of France’s armed forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry) in order to deal with the ongoing violence occurring on Saturday. “It is too bad that a protest that started out honorable had members amongst them that it get out of hand and cause damage other people’s personal property, that never proves the point and they lose credibility when they do that.” said Stephanie Toole, a 29 year resident of Lakewood Ohio.

    With all the commotion going on in France, a distaste for the French president Emanuel Macron is rising. He stated “No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are threatened or that the Arc du Triomphe is defiled”.

    Photo credit – https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+vest+protest&safe=active&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE27Wi8InfAhWOIDQIHTiaAJEQ_AUIDygC&biw=1280&bih=603#imgrc=toaQvLgrSw7UHM:

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