Must give it to France 24 English. Their reportage is bang on the money.
Must give it to France 24 English. Their reportage is bang on the money.
If you've been wondering what's going on with all the riot videos from Europe on your feed, this is the explainer for you.
Most of them are coming from France right now. This video is from Place de la République in Paris.
France has been protesting for weeks, and it keeps getting bigger.
It started with high school students in late September. They were angry about overcrowded classrooms, not enough teachers, and that their schools were too hot during this year's heatwaves.
Some of those protests turned violent, and police clashed with teenagers in several cities.
Then public sector workers joined.
Teachers, hospital staff and government employees went on strike on September 29 against the government's plans for next year's budget.
On October 6, somewhere around 4.5 lakh people marched across France.
A big part of the protestors is the Yellow Vests, or gilets jaunes.
They started a movement that shook France in 2018, over a fuel tax hike. The Unions are in on it too. The CGT, one of France's biggest unions, has joined.
They've called for an unlimited strike since September 28. Firefighters are striking until October 20, and workers at the electricity companies have a strike notice till the end of the year.
Political parties on the left, like France Unbowed, the Communist Party and the Greens, are backing the protests as well.
And then there are the students, of course, who kicked it all off.
But why are they doing this?
The main reason is simple.
In France, fuel prices have shot up because of the conflict in West Asia. Electricity and everyday costs have gone up with them.
On top of that, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's draft budget for 2027 includes big spending cuts.
It would freeze public sector salaries and freeze several welfare benefits despite rising costs.
For a lot of French people, the bigger fear is about public services getting worse. They fear that schools won't have enough teachers, hospitals would be short of staff, and public transport won't be funded properly.
Their demands, put simply, are cheaper fuel, no freeze on salaries and benefits, action plans on the cost of living, and proper funding for schools, hospitals and transport.
Now, to be fair, most of the marches have been peaceful.
But the government has warned that some violent groups are joining in, and Paris police have blocked or changed several march routes for fear of clashes.
That's where a lot of the dramatic clips on your feed are coming from.
Now, importantly, let's try and understand how we are dealing with this in India.
See, we're dealing with the same pressures.
Fuel costs have gone up here too because of the same West Asia situation. Food prices bite every household. And plenty of Indians complain about government schools, hospitals and public transport.
But we react very differently.
In France, protesting is almost part of being a citizen. The country was born out of a revolution, and people still treat the street as the place to push back against the government.
In India, most of the middle class almost never protests over prices or public services. We complain at home, on WhatsApp and on X, and then adjust our budgets.
The big protests we do see are usually tied to a specific group, like farmers during the farm law protests, or to a specific law or event.
There's another difference.
The French pay very high taxes and expect a lot back, free schooling, strong healthcare, generous pensions.
In India, a lot of us have quietly given up expecting much from public services. Those who can afford it pay twice, once in taxes and again for private schools, private hospitals and their own cars.
I'm not saying India should copy France.
But it's worth asking why we expect so little from the services our taxes pay for, and why we rarely say anything when they get worse.
I guess he is American citizen of indian origin so obviously he will be concerned about American allies.This is so amusing to watch. An indian worried about white europeansas if they give a fu_ck about you. Do you think they can differentiate between you(a brown indian) and a brown muslim????
This one sided concern is so pathetic. I hope europeans & muslims destroy each other. Good luck to both of them.
This is so amusing to watch. An indian worried about white europeansas if they give a fu_ck about you. Do you think they can differentiate between you(a brown indian) and a brown muslim????
This one sided concern is so pathetic. I hope europeans & muslims destroy each other. Good luck to both of them.