five years later, the “yellow vest” movement no longer mobilizes crowds despite the crisis

Every Saturday morning (or almost), Brigitte comes to the gathering of “yellow vests” near the Allonne roundabout, on the outskirts of Beauvais, in Oise. “We never stopped, even during the epidemic. But we no longer have the right to stand on the roundabout”, regrets this 60-year-old woman on disability. Around an improvised table and a thermos of coffee, a dozen of them kept warm on Saturday October 28, talking about the price of gasoline, the difficulty of filling the shopping basket or even the hope of democratic reform. “We are in a dictatorship”thunders Kléber*, who does not mask his anger towards Emmanuel Macron.

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“There are not many of us, because weariness has done its work, notes Brigitte. But we still hope that others will join us and we want to show people who pass in front of the roundabout that there are still ‘yellow vests’, that we are there.” Regularly, horns of support come from the old national road 1, greeted by the cheers of the small troop of diehards. “Well, we also sometimes have a few insults”recognizes Brigitte.

The optimism of these diehards does not mask the demobilization, both in the streets and on Facebook groups, compared to the tens of thousands of people who took to the streets in 2018 and 2019. Part of several calls to demonstrate against the increase of fuel prices in the fall of 2018, the “yellow vest” movement was able to bring together a multitude of demands and anger expressed in particular on the roundabouts of rural and peri-urban France. “The actions of the ‘yellow vests’, let’s be honest, there are almost no more”laments Gaylord, a 41-year-old former participant contacted by franceinfo. “There are still a few demonstrations, but the ideology of sharing, of mutual aid, in my opinion, has disappeared.”

“People are exhausted”

How to explain this erasure of public space, even though inflation is currently plunging part of the French population into precariousness? “First, there is no mechanical link between the deterioration of living conditions and the intensity of social mobilization”, replies Brice Le Gall, sociologist at the Observatory of Social Work and Inequalities. In other words, a protest movement does not respond solely to socio-economic logics. “If there is a link between casualization and mobilization, it is rather negative, because it requires available time and resources”, notes the researcher, who followed several “yellow vests” from Oise at the start of the movement. Present for the first time at the Allonne gathering this October 28, Martine confirms that she does not have the means to mobilize every weekend. This 71-year-old woman says in particular that she can no longer go to the hospital every day to see her husband because of the price of gasoline.

“As for meals, I no longer eat lunch. And I cut my food into quarters to ration…”

Martine, “yellow vest”

at franceinfo

“The demonstrations cost us a lot of money to travel to the cities”adds Tifenn, a mother. “Inflation makes everything more difficult today”adds Virginie, who is struggling to keep in touch with her former comrades in the struggle. “Inviting each other, going to restaurants, all that is expensive.” Today, the “yellow vests” are organizing targeted actions, but are struggling to rebuild new places of protest, after the destruction of the camps at the crossroads. “The roundabouts were not just a brilliant invention from a political point of view, it was also a place they knew perfectly well since they pass through many roundabouts every day”observes professor of political science Laurent Jeanpierre, author ofIn Girum, the political lessons of roundabouts (The Discovery, 2019). “And then, it no longer works, because the people who participated in the movement are exhausted. This investment was so strong! Many left feathers.”

“All of this ended up sacrificing my story with the mother of my children. It’s not just that, but it’s linked”, admits Tanael*, currently “yellow vest” in Eure-et-Loir. The movement took up all his time, to the detriment of his family life. “On Saturday, we were in demonstration. On Sunday, I participated in a think tank on the RIC [référendum d’initiative citoyenne].” Gaylord made many connections thanks to the “yellow vests”. He met his son’s mother, with whom he stayed for four years, but also less well-intentioned people. “A person decided to attack me, which created a climate of insecurity around my family.” According to him, this even contributed to the breakup of his relationship.

“It was all for nothing”

Several testimonies also mention the violence on the sidelines of the processions, which alienated many people from the protest. “It was all for nothing, except to take blows and gas”breathes Brigitte, in reference to the numerous demonstrators injured during this period. “We must recognize that we had little victories and we experienced unspeakable repression. We had people blinded in one eye, our hands torn off…”Tanael also blurted out. “The police repression was probably unprecedented since the Algerian war, this produced great discouragement”analyzes Laurent Jeanpierre. “The repression continued in the courts and resulted in prison sentences, and sometimes extremely heavy fines for low-income households to bear.”, adds Brice Le Gall. In one year of protests, 3,204 convictions were handed down, including 2,282 prison sentences or suspended sentences, according to a report established in 2021.

Many of them regret internal dissensions over time. “OEven though we were told that it was an apolitical movement, we still saw a lot of divisions”regrets Tifenn. “At each election, there was polarization, because even if the movement wanted to be transpolitical, the different tendencies were expressed and this created conflicts. tensionsbelieves Brice Le Gall. We must also mention the effects of the health crisis and successive confinements which have made gatherings impossible and which have probably fueled divisions between certain ‘yellow vests’, particularly due to the ‘anti-vax’ movement.” The pandemic has come to a halt for many. “For a long time, we went on raids, we collected clothes that we were going to give to the homeless, but Covid broke all that”says Virginie.

“We did our part”

Many are now waiting for other segments of the population to mobilize. “The ‘yellow vests’ are fed up with hearing people ask why they are no longer mobilizing.s people who say that, what are they doing right now to protest?”asks Virginie. “We did our part: we sacrificed our vacations, our weekends, sometimes our family… It’s up to others to take over.”adds Tanael. “The re-election of Emmanuel Macron and the setbacks suffered by the unions, particularly on pension reform, are responsible for convincing some that there is nothing more to expect from the strike or the demonstration”analyzes Brice Le Gall.

Especially since the movement has done everything not to structure itself, refusing the emergence of representatives or spokespersons. “Heterogeneity revealed itself to be a fragility and it appeared as a grouping of individual discontents”notes Christian Le Bart, professor of political science.

“Attempts to try to follow up, through elections or other social movements, have never really succeeded.”

Christian Le Bart, political scientist

at franceinfo

Especially since politicians have not done much to integrate this new force. The government has not responded to the thousands of demands contained in the lists of grievances, which “went to die in the basements of who knows what ministry”regrets Christian Le Bart. “I think that the questions asked were addressed first to the left and that they were incapable of answering them, adds Laurent Jeanpierre. This largely explains why the movement appears to have no heritage.”

“The calm before the storm”

In Paris, around a hundred demonstrators have in any case not given up. Like every week, Saturday October 7, they met to parade through the streets of the capital. The “yellow vests” mix with the flags in a festive atmosphere, with Patrick Sébastien in the background. “Young people in hardship, old people in poverty (…): we don’t want that society”, intones a woman into a megaphone. A little further, Nadia, 58 years old, mobilized “since the first day”calls out to passers-by with his sign “Wake up !”. “I think there is a lot of defeatism, it’s as if we had lobotomized people, the power holds the people by fearshe believes. I use the demonstration as an educational weapon and I see that many support us.”

Several former “yellow vests” say they are ready to remobilize when the time comes. “If I am asked to return to demonstrations, I will”assures Brigitte. “No one knows where the ‘yellow vests’ have gone, but they have not disappeared. And the causes of discontent have worsened, so this movement is still potentially present”analyzes Christian Le Bart. “Before a tornadoThere is a time out, the calm before the storm”warns Michel, a retired “yellow vest”.

“The feeling of injustice is still there, the pot is still on the stove, boiling.”

Michel, “yellow vest”

at franceinfo

Especially since the movement allowed many of them to become politicized. Virginie was elected municipal councilor before being forced to resign for personal reasons. Tanael purchased an edition of the Constitution to have “a finer knowledge of our institutions”. Finally, Gaylord sometimes watches parliamentary sessions on TV, “to see what happens” : “Before, I had no political knowledgetoday I learned to look, to be interested.”

*First names have been changed at the request of interested parties.