THE PURPOSE:

Restore French values

Yoann Decoux, an out-of-work electrical linesman in his 30s who was presented by Gueret’s yellow vest protesters as their spokesman, had been arrested in Paris two weeks back. “They don’t even know how we get by with our tiny little salaries,” he said. “But we are humans too, for God’s sake!” None of the protesters expressed allegiance to any politician: Most said politics disgusted them. When Gueret’s mayor, Michel Vergnier, a veteran Socialist with decades of connections in Paris, went to see the protesters, they were not welcoming. “There’s a rejection of politicians,” Vergnier said. “They are outside all political and union organisations.”