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Written by Piero Messina
The Confédération générale du travail (CGT) has blocked the country to contest the high prices and the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation. With the march on October 16, hundreds of thousands of Parisians marched from Place de La Nation to La Bastille shouting “we have no petrol but the energy of our legs”. And today it has been replicated
The sector in the front row is that of refinery workers: for weeks the petrol stations have almost all been dry. To avoid the collapse of the system, the Macron government tried the injunction card. But it was a boomerang. The strike proclaimed by the CGT was also joined by the school, the transport sector and public workers. It looks like a reissue of “Jilet jauns”. But this time, even if public opinion remains distant from the protest until now, the government led by Emmanuel Macron seems disarmed. And France looks like a powder keg ready to explode.
The image of chaos is that of a war between rich and poor. It is no coincidence that the protest came from workers in the energy sector. Workers who have wages destroyed by inflation and contest the very rich bonuses that managers in the oil sector collect. A situation of total imbalance that the shortage of energy products caused by the war being fought in Ukraine has even exacerbated. For the oil companies, they are not the French ones, this war is a blessing, because the turnover has grown out of all proportion.
In the first half of 2022 alone, Total in fact recorded profits of $ 10.6 billion, while ExxonMobil, which controls Esso, did even better, given that the net revenue in the second quarter of the year was 17.9. billions of dollars. The same situation also in Italy, where Eni, the state-controlled energy company generated profits of billions in 2022.
A paradoxical situation that has prompted even the moderate French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin to appeal to the managers of the industry for fairer salaries: “A worker, an employee who works, must be remunerated with the right salary – said the government exponent in a radio interview, adding that “today people observe that their salaries do not follow the increase in prices”. In short, in France it is a black crisis.
Energy workers have made it known that they will not yield an inch. They want the pay rise. The Total company seems willing to meet the demands of those who protest. Nothing on the part of ExxonMobil, which does not even seem willing to open the deal.
According to French political analysts, the real risk is that the protest will spread to other categories of workers. Inflation is eroding the purchasing power of all workers. There is a risk of the contagion effect. The effects of the energy crisis are beginning to show the fragility of a common European policy. Threats to Russia do not work: the idea of imposing a price cap on gas and oil from Moscow have been rejected by Russian companies. The application of the price cap will automatically result in a stop to supplies. So every European nation runs alone. Germany has launched a 200 billion euro fund to cover the expensive energy. France has introduced measures to contain energy costs. Europe no longer has a common policy. It is only a matter of time to understand how deep the rift is within Europe. It is certainly the end of the global dream for the Old Continent. Macron’s political strategy demonstrates this. The French president has one thing in mind more than others: to bring as much production back to France as possible. In French it is called Autarcie. And it is an economic dogma of fascism.
Getting serious now as on a working day so the rich peoples companies do not work. Not a weekend demo when the people in power do not care what you do with your free time.
French people turning on their own, americunts cant even vote, russians addicted to vodka for all their solutions.
there was nuland handing out cookies!
and michael mcfaul was there on his knees giving free bjs!
nuland told the protestors, “america supports your coup!”
“throw macron naked into the streets!”, added michael mcfaul.
I prefer her ‘fuck the EU’ quote. It’s slightly more honest.
If the fat ugly cow was giving out cookies, I would imagine she would eat at least 10 for every one that was pulled out of her tight little fist.
The Anglo-Saxons are very interested in eliminating Macron (they prefer a thousand times over puppets like the Spanish “leftists” Sánchez/Borrell or rightists like Ursula von der Leyen), for this they use the extreme French Jewish-Trotskyist left, just as they did in May 1968 against De Gaulle. Therefore, Southfront should be more careful when supporting these double-edged moves and dark supports.
these frenchies need an attitude adjustment!
think of it this way, frenchies, “without energy, france is the new africa!”
the answer to adversity is how you think about it!
now eat some cake!
End the Russian sanctions and stop pumping the corrupt Ukraine full of weapons and your money!
exactly, but these people believe what the media is telling them and they are not blaming their government, but they Blame Russia. As if Russia has any duty to sell them gas.
These French people probably all have Ukraine flags in their windows, and support Ukraine 100%.
See why West MSM push riots in Iran so hard… they don’t say shit about protests in the EU at all.
The question is, do these people know that the issue is their government putting sanctions on Russia, and support Ukraine?
Or do these people blame Moscow and Putin for the high gas prices?
I would bet these people believe what the media tells them, and they support the Ukraine war and think its Putin price hike that caused the energy issues and inflation.
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of…”
…but you can fool most of the people most of the time. That’s how western “democracy” works.
There are a lot of people who realize it’s all bullshit, same as Covid, but most people are too indoctrinated, too lazy, too stupid, too afraid… The system always wins.
I think many know that it is their own government, and its wrong politics that leads to these problems.
So-called EU “leadership” priorities:
1) serve Washington
2) serve Washington
3) serve Washington
4) hate, hate, hate Russia
5) weapons for Zelensky
6) money for Zelensky
7) more weapons and more money for Zelensky
8) female rights in Iran
9) LGBT rights in Swaziland
…. ….. ……
999) Europeans!
just kidding, Borrell, van der Layden and all other muppets just don’t care…
The main female antagonist in Iran, who likes to get her tits out in public, sports a tattoo of the star of David on her neck. Fancy that.
Is supporting a clown like Zelenskyy worth all this mayhem, specially since there’s zero chance of him ever defeating Russia.
russia is done already. 30 himars changed the war for some time. do you understand what nato would do to russia in a conventional war? without nuclear weapons russia would be US farm land. ukropistan included.
Cool so there is no need for you to stop by and spout stuff anymore. Just know that Russia is done its over. Thank you now move on with your life. Good luck!
If enough people get onto the streets there’s nothing the cops can do! Burn every police station to the ground in West Europe along with every synagogue and free Mason Lodge. They are the people’s real enemies
The French are more volatile than the Germans. But their example might just bring things to a boil east of The Rhine…
Now, the Russians need to lend support as they can to the French patriots .
Don’t understand why the protesters are running away from the cops. They should be getting into the cops using everything they have petrol bombs rocks iron bars if the cops are using guns then the protesters should too. Use a van or a large car drive it into them at speed do what ever needs to be done to bring down the French elite
Storm the Bastille
What about a MAXIMUM wage/salary and bonuses for those in certain key industries and for those paid from the taxpayers money? Key industries, water water waste, telephone and internet service providers, gas, electricity and oil, mainline rail services, metro, buses and trams, the roads and highways, education services and health provision. Those working for charities and no profits who have tax benefits should have earnings caps. Raw and basic foodstuffs should also have their industries capped with maximum wages, such as wheatflour and bread, vegetables, dairy, meat. Insurance services should have caps too. The profits on these should also be capped. Banksters should have their earnings capped and our National banks must be privatised. Investments should be encouraged but the shorting and casino types of investments should have regulations. An international gold and silver currency should be created that can be spent anywhere but trade should also be conducted with currency swaps.
Nations should link a minimum wage to the averages of earned ncome and to a maximum earnings. Then we can link pensions and unemployment benefits and incapacity, sick & disabled benefits in with that. When one band goes up, they all go up.
Once nato loses an army of say 500.000 men in a major offensive in the east then they will understand that Russia is not Iraq or lybia
As the brave warriors take to the Battlefields the brave citizens of Europe take to the battlements of the streets.
Godspeed. You now know for sure your foreign enemies. Don’t overlook powerful economic and social weapons to use against them.