(FB 1553181552 Timestamp)
FRANCE: INSIGHT
by Aaron Kahland
One element of the yellow vest protests in France is not addressed by analysts of that protest. The increased tax on fuel is not merely a catalyst for general dissatisfaction. Mobility allows the upper working class and lower middle class French to segregate – live away from the Banlieue whilst continuing to work in cities.
Fuel is already a significant expense for the French worker. Increasing the cost of mobility makes it difficult to segregate into smaller French towns / suburbs. Those affected can no longer afford to live in metropolitan, French, France and the tax threatens them with moving to non-French areas.
The yellow vests have long since given up on any hope of entering the middle class which is why they are so desperate to clutch on to what remains of their France.