The promises of fire of Notre Dame ignite the demonstrators of the yellow vest | New

Paris, France – Hold placards where it is written "And the poor?" and chanting "Justice for all", protesters of the yellow jacket in France, ignoring the demonstrations of unity of the French political clbad following the fire of Notre-Dame, marched Saturday in the streets from Paris and other cities, swearing to persevere in what they called "Ultimatum 2".

"These [protests] are very important for social justice, "said Jean-Baptiste Redde during Saturday's demonstration on the Place de la Republique in the center of Paris.We must help the poor, people with disabilities, those who do not have no roof to live in. It's important to hold on. "

Hundreds of people were arrested and dozens more injured by violence between protesters and police.

The French capital quickly became the epicenter of Saturday's violence, with 9,000 demonstrators reported in Paris alone, according to the French Ministry of the Interior, and the police curly parts of the city.

As the protests unfolded in a calm, almost carnival-like atmosphere, violence erupted as thousands of protesters approached Republic Square.

People threw stones at the police who responded with tear gas and sound grenades.

It was the twenty-third manifestation of the disparate, organized and poorly organized movement, which largely shared his resentment of the lack of economic equality in France and his dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron, whom many consider a "President of the rich".

The popular movement that started on social media proved to be one of the biggest challenges of Macron's presidency, as protesters refused to let this week's fire in Notre-Dame suspend their protests, even as President and the French political parties put politics aside and stopped the campaign. for the next elections to the European Parliament.

In fact, in some respects, Monday's fire ignited some protesters because of the hundreds of millions of euros raised immediately afterwards to restore Our Lady, 850 years old.

Part of this money was announced by French billionaires such as François-Henri Pinault, CEO of the French luxury group Kering, and Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, as well as by companies such as French the oil giant Total.

"I'd like us to come back to reality," said Ingrid Levavbadeur, one of the movement's informal leaders, speaking on French television BFM last week.

Levavbadeur said that it was important to criticize "the inertia of big business and [billionaires] face social misery as they demonstrate their ability to collect a crazy sum in one night for Notre Dame ".

His comments and others have been widely shared on social media. Many have accepted.

"If they manage to give tens of millions of dollars to rebuild Notre Dame, they should stop telling us that there is no money to fight social inequality. "said Philippe Martinez, president of the CGT workers union, on French radio last week.

The feeling is reflected Saturday in the streets of Paris.

"Billions should also be given to the poor, to help the environment, to promote biodiversity," Redde said, holding a sign saying "Millions for Notre Dame – and for the poor?"

"But Macron and this government only want to help the rich, so we can not stop."

"A useless debate"

The fire of Notre Dame, revered by all French – Catholics, Muslims and Jews – as part of France's cultural and historical heritage, sparked a wave of national grief.

As a result, the anger over donations sparked a backlash in government and the public.

"It's a useless debate," said Culture Minister Franck Riester, interviewed by Radio RMC. "To say" there is too much money for Notre Dame and there is a need elsewhere "- of course, there is a need elsewhere for health care, the fight against climate change But Notre Dame is not just a collection of old stones – it's a part of our identity. "

French Minister of inside Christophe Castaner was more pointed.

"The rioters were not visibly moved by what happened at Notre-Dame," he said angrily, shortly before the French Ministry announced the deployment of 60,000 policemen from France to prevent protesters from going near Notre Dame and the Champs-Elysees. in March, they burned a bank, destroyed the front of a renowned restaurant and looted stores.

It is difficult to say that the demonstrations are no longer legitimate because of the fire of Notre Dame. Life goes on. And so do the yellow vests.

Jean-Michel Aphatie, political commentator

Meanwhile, the public is already tired by the protesters – the latest polls show that support for yellow vests has halved from 80%. An Odoxa poll released Friday revealed that only a small majority of French wanted the protests to be suspended.

"I have enough," said Al Jazeera, privately, a clothing trader in the Marais, an important tourist district near the Republic Square. "It's been five months since we have almost nothing to do – tourists do not come here because of protests."

Our Lady even gave a break to some within the movement. On Tuesday, many members of the movement called for a postponement of demonstrations because of the "national tragedy" of Our Lady.

& # 39; Too little, too late & # 39;

Monday's fire broke out just an hour before the scheduled date for Macron to make a televised speech detailing a series of political reforms in response to protesters wearing a yellow vest and their grievances. The speech was canceled at the last minute and postponed until next Thursday.

Nevertheless, copies of the recorded speech sent to the journalists were disclosed. In this document, Macron has pledged to cut taxes for the middle clbad, reconsider its decision to remove a "wealth tax" on high earners and adjust the lowest pensions to inflation.

Macron was also scheduled to announce the closure of the highly prestigious National School of Administration, a university that trains civil servants. Many criticized the school as a place reserved for the elite.

The Odoxa survey showed that the majority of French citizens supported these changes. But many protesters in the yellow vest and others continued to shout "too little, too late" and vowed to continue protesting for weeks.

"Pfff – blah, blah, blah" was Catherine Lopis' reaction when asked about Macron's plans.

"I voted for him (Macron) – I had no choice but him or her [far-right leader Marine] The pen. But he is not interested in helping anyone other than the bankers. Our problems are not his problems, so it is easy for him to turn away. "

Jerome Rodrigues, a leader of the movement, said Saturday that the postponement of Macron's speech had been calculated.

"The world stops turning when there is a fire in France?" he asked during an interview on French television.

"I think that the government's strategy was to obtain confidential information in order to save time to sell us its new program, and the changes it wants to make are the ones we are denouncing here at the event. . "

"The protesters are right"

"These protests will not end in a short time," said political commentator and French political commentator Jean-Michel Aphatie.

But without concrete goals and without a clear leader, Aphatie said the movement was struggling to be effective and make concrete changes.

"The only thing they are sure of is that they want to go out every Saturday to protest," he said, citing the fact that demonstrations had always been held since November 17, even though if they have decreased.

Nevertheless, he added that the demonstration had a legitimacy. The French have seen their purchasing power decline over the years and many are struggling to make ends meet.

"It is hard to say that the protests are no longer legitimate because of the fire of Our Lady," Aphatie said. "Life goes on, and Yellow Vests too."