France: Political ambitions reveal cracks in yellow vest movement

The prospect of yellow vest lists has triggered criticism from inside their own ranks, revealing cracks in the burgeoning movement. Many protesters have warned against the idea of entering the political fray.

protest yellow vest, yellow vest movement, president emmanuel, france politics, citizen's initiative rally, french movement, french right wing, france republicans, world news, indian express news — Recent opinion polls suggest that a yellow vest list could garner as much as 13 per cent of the votes at the May 26 election, and inflict serious damage to both far-right and far-left parties.

Having brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets over the past three months in protest at French President Emmanuel Macron’s politics, yellow vest activists now want to build on their street cred to achieve electoral success.

But the movement, named after the fluorescent garments French motorists must carry, is divided: it has no appointed leader, gathers people from across the political spectrum and has an array of demands.

With the next elections to the European Parliament set for the end of May, no fewer than four groups from the grassroots movement could submit lists of candidates for the ballot. Some media-savvy yellow vest figures also are tempted to run under the mantle of traditional political parties trying to take advantage of their popularity.

No wonder unity seems impossible to achieve within a movement featuring multiple political currents and fighting for a multitude of demands, ranging from the reintroduction of France’s wealth tax on the country’s richest people to the implementation of popular votes allowing citizens to propose new laws.

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In any case, the prospect of yellow vest lists has triggered criticism from inside their own ranks, revealing cracks in the burgeoning movement.

Despite recent opinion polls suggesting that a yellow vest list could garner as much as 13 per cent of the votes at the May 26 election, and inflict serious damage to both far-right and far-left parties, many protesters have warned against the idea of entering the political fray.