Elites under fire

How the world has changed, at least from an SA perspective

The roundabout just five minutes’ drive from Carcassonne airport was lit up with bonfires. For a split second I thought it was part of the Christmas celebrations intended to welcome travellers on cold, dark December nights. Then I noticed the yellow vests, les gilets jaunes, and heard the cacophony of horns from passing drivers hooting their support for one of the largest protest movements seen in France since 1968.

Unlike Paris, which has been rendered a no-go zone by police and violent protesters, who have been accused of hijacking the movement, every weekend since early November, across rural France the mood has been much more peaceful. Those not out stoking fires at roundabouts show their support by putting the gilet jaune, which every French car is obliged to carry, on the dashboard. But even in the rural far south of the country there is anger. It’s impossible to know if it will swell or subside in the run-up to Christmas.

President Emmanuel Macron’s few concessions may or may not help to calm things. He is a much disliked individual and his refusal to reinstate a wealth tax he removed early in his tenure will aggravate the view that he governs on behalf of the elite.

The absence of leadership and the general tone of the demands of the protesters is reminiscent of the Occupy Wall Street movement that flourished for a few months at the end of 2011 in New York. Inevitably its initial reliance on Facebook has also prompted comparison with the Arab Spring of 2011, particularly by journalists from the Middle East who like to point out the people of France are now demanding democracy.

The French protests (there are signs it has spread to other European capitals) were triggered by Macron’s plans to increase the price of petrol. This was too much for the middle and lower-middle classes, who say that while the elite worry about the end of the world, they worry about the end of the month. The protests have revealed grim details about the lives of huge swathes of the citizens of one of the richest countries in the world.

From an EU perspective the French protests have shifted the spotlight from Italy, where for months the government has been clashing with the European Commission. In a bid to address high levels of unemployment and a tripling in the numbers living in poverty since 2006, Italy’s new antielite coalition government wants to introduce a flat tax rate as well as a basic income for the poor and lower the retirement age. Brussels is not happy and says it breaks EU rules.

And then there’s the seemingly never-ending Brexit farce. The crippling impasse between Westminster and Brussels means the British have no idea what their future looks like.

How the world has changed. At least from an SA perspective. In December 2017 everything looked exceptionally grim for South Africans: it was unclear whether, even if Cyril Ramaphosa won at the ANC conference, he would be able to secure his victory; the country had been brought to its knees through the ransacking by Zuma-aligned officials; Cape Town was facing Day Zero; and the Steinhoff collapse demonstrated corruption wasn’t limited to politicians. Europe seemed comfortably stable and prosperous.

I resist the temptation to tell my European friends about “cheap” property prices in a recovering SA.

‘The elite worry about the end of the world, we worry about the end of the month’