In what has been called the “March of Anger“, thousands of police are protesting in Paris over poor working conditions, pension reforms, and horrible suicide rates among cops.
The entirety of the center of Paris was paralyzed by the massive rally of police officers and their supporters.
In speeches, the police state they are:
in total despair after being completely and utterly abandoned by our government
More than 20,000 individuals attended this march and walked from Bastille to the Republic Square in Paris. Many cops drove from hours away to attend and show their support.
Cops Protest In Paris
There have been 52 suicides among French police so far in 2019. The annual average was 42.
Additionally, France wants to change their pension program, likely for the worse.
Even more so, police have been fighting off Yellow Vest protests for months now. Some, violently. The job itself has become significantly more dangerous for French police.
Police use old cars and equipment because the government hasn’t even paid them their duly earned back-pay. Like they have any money for equipment upgrades.
Why?
The Yellow Vests
The Yellow Vests actions are behind a lot of this march. In the case of the protests, the government has failed to protect the police. The Yellow Vests are a populist, grassroots revolutionary group dedicated primarily to economic reform in France. They span the entire political spectrum and all political parties. The police have been disintegrated from a community force for good to tools by the government. And then the government further abandoned them economically.
I actually support the Yellow Vests. Their protests are much needed in the Western world. However, the primary enemy, the state, is shifting the undue toll of their failures onto the police.
Police are the ones being forced to deal with the protests, work ridiculous overtime hours, and take all the hate of the protests when it’s not their fault this is happening on any side.
Police have always been a force that is there to protect and serve, or at least they should be. And I believe many police want to do this but are handcuffed.
The Difference Between the Yellow Vests and the French Police
Truthfully, the Yellow Vest protests and the issues plaguing the police are not that different. The issue is the descent of late-stage capitalism into the beginning failures of socialism, where France is currently sitting economically.
This failure of capitalism and the rule-by-many to remain stable overtime is demonstrated well in France. The ramifications of this failure become evidenced through the protests both by the police and by the Yellow Vests.
Poor working conditions, lack of cultural unity, declining living standards, no community connection, no national identity, pure consumerism, rise of individual isolationism, degeneracy, and disintegrating families led to one thing: exactly what is happening in France.
And it destroys both the police and the Yellow vests. The police, unable to uphold a moral society and constantly being handcuffed become discouraged and suicidal. The Yellow Vests, unable to escape the degeneracy and unable to find happiness in a consumerist and isolationist world turn to violence and believe the police are the enemy.
When in reality, they are both being subjugated by the same machine that seeks to have them remain obedient and dependent on the state. Dependent either through pensions and moral support, or economic benefit and hedonistic lifestyle. The nipple may taste different for both parties, but it’s from the same beast.
God bless the police in France, and god bless the Yellow Vests. I hope someday they can realize they are on the same side.
For those of us across the sea, we should begin to prepare to see more of this. As more economic systems continue to face the very same issues France is facing, their issues will not just be foreign issues much longer.