What we are witnessing in France these days makes me wonder whether an entire political and social model is on a crisis and is rapidly approaching its end. A western “advanced” and progressist country, always pointed at as an example of successful society, is at the verge of collapse due to internal instability and riots (and has been for the last months/years in a similar situation). Worker class rights, maternity leaves and reduces working hours, minimum wages, national healthcare and education, tolerance, minority inclusion, democracy itself in its principles of fair and equal representation seem to be at risk and simply “not sustainable any more”. Is anyone having the same feelings?
I live in France. This kind of riots has been around for decades, sometimes because a cop murdered a kid in a poor neighborhood, sometimes because it’s new year’s eve (true story). What happened the last few days is not the sign of a system on the brink of collapse.
It’s the result of our colonial era, of a urban policy that creates ghettos, of ordinary racism (particularly in the police) and above all of a policing policy that has become increasingly brutal since the 2000s.
Concurrently, Macron is an authoritarian oligarch in the era of late stage capitalism. But the current riots are not related to the health care system or the worker’s rights.
Thank you… Glad to hear that I was somehow over-elaborating on the subject
I’m an American, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong:
I don’t think France is anywhere near a collapse. There’s property damage and maybe even some violence, but this is not going to completely dismantle France. There might be some policy changes or resignations, but that’s about it.
I don’t think that this is building to anything worse, either.
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