Title: Why the French are protesting
Headings: Yellow vests, blue vests and red scarves — Here’s why the French are protesting
Yellow vests, blue vests and red scarves — Here’s why the French are protesting
What’s going on in France?
How and why did protests start?
November 17
Why are they called Yellow Vests?
Why did protests escalate?
So, who are the Red Scarves?
What about the Blue Vests?
What has the government done about protests?
How is Macron doing?

Content: There are various Facebook pages for different “Gilet Jaunes” (Yellow Vest) groups and while many protesters are ordinary working people, ranging from students and farmers, the movement has also attracted wider anti-government activists, anarchists and, ironically given the reason for the protests, environmentalists too. The biggest Facebook group, Compteur Officiel de Gilets Jaunes, says it has 1.86 million members. Yellow Vests have also become more politicized, calling for a “Citizens’ Initiative Referendum” (or RIC, a slogan often seen on protesters’ placards) calling for citizens to have the chance to vote on government policies. A Yellow Vest protester holds a placard calling for the RIC (Citizens Initiated Referendum). For the Act XI of the Yellow Vest movement, more than 10 000 people took to the streets of Toulouse for the anti-governement protest on January 26th 2019. NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Why did protests escalate? Local demonstrations over fuel quickly morphed into a wider, national movement and the grievances also took on an anti-establishment, and particularly anti-Macron, character. In the second week of protests on November 24, demonstrators from around the country descended on the capital Paris. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police on the Champs-Elysees, leading to a number of arrests, and tear gas and water cannons were used on protesters. Similar scenes were witnessed a week later.