The yellow vests movement is unlikely to force French President Emmanuel Macron to resign unless protesters have powerful backers within France's political circles, Italian journalist Daniele Pozzati told Sputnik.

There are no doubts about the grassroots nature of the ongoing "yellow vests" protests, however, one should not underestimate the possibility of a split within the French political establishment, Munich-based Italian journalist and political analyst Daniele Pozzati told Sputnik.

"Last October, [conservative Italian journalist Maurizio] Blondet pointed out that a series of resignations at the highest level of French government had left Macron struggling to fill vacant posts, due to the reluctance of French senior politicians to associate their names with an apparently doomed presidency. This was before yellow vests came along," he recalled.

Another finding, despite calls not to protest in Paris, the mobilization of yellow vests has grown from one week to another. The message sent by the Elysee, according to which some "came to kill," failed to reverse the trend. No weapons were seized during the police checks. "Dramatization has not prevented the world, of the order of 10,000 people," admits an official. This December 8, the yellow vests were visible clusters of Bastille to Etoile through Republic and the Grands Boulevards, when the previous weekend, they were concentrated only on the Star. "All the more reason to congratulate ourselves on our device"slips a trade unionist who hopes, without much believe, "that the tension will now fall". "If this Saturday we had done like the weekend before, we would have had another day of chaos, " he said. But I do not know how many consecutive Saturdays we still hold like this .

Yellow Vests have now spread to Portugal! A few hundred “yellow vest” protesters took to the streets throughout Portugal on Friday in an attempt to stop traffic, inspired by the French revolutionary “gilets jaunes”.

There were roughly 100 protesters crossing with police at a central square in Lisbon with other access roads blocked in the northern city of Braga earlier.

The emptiest, dumbest platitude of our time, uttered both by establishment stiffs like the Archbishop of Canterbury and by self-styled radical leftists, is that the 1930s have made a comeback. Treating that dark decade as if it were a sentient force, a still-extant thing, observers from both the worried bourgeoisie and the edgy left insist the Thirties have staggered back to life and have much of the West in their reanimated deathly grip. Looking at Brexit, the European turn against social democracy, the rise of populist parties, and the spread of ‘yellow vest’ revolts, the opinion-forming set sees fascism everywhere, rising zombie-like from its grave, laying to waste the progressive gains of recent decades.

A tenth person has died during the Yellow Vest protests in France as demonstrations resumed today, with police pulling their guns on activists amid fierce clashes in central Paris.

A 36-year-old motorist, who has not been identified publicly, died when his car collided with a lorry at a road block erected by protesters in Perpignan last night, in the south of the country.

A local police spokesman said: 'The victim was with a group of demonstrators when the accident happened just before midnight on Friday. An enquiry has been launched.'

Protesters also gathered around a tollbooth on a French motorway on Saturday causing huge queues of vehicles and long delays.

Meanwhile Brussels faced renewed demonstrations after a month of mass protests which have seen at least 400 people detained following clashes with police.

Authorities in a south-western French town are furious after Yellow Vest protesters beheaded an effigy of Emmanuel Macron with an ax, put its “head” on a stake and danced. Now the mock executioners face a very real criminal case.

Around 90 protesters dressed in yellow vests – the symbol of the recent wave of anti-government protests in France – gathered in a park in the town of Angouleme to stage the mock beheading on Friday evening. It’s not clear if the day was chosen deliberately, but on December 21 French President Macron celebrated his 41st birthday.

The macabre “performance” quickly spread on social networks and in French media, with photos showing the Yellow Vests literally cutting off Macron effigy’s head with a large ax. If that wasn’t enough, the mock head – with a mask of the president’s face – was then placed on a stake. The protesters then proceeded to dance around a burning barricade after apparently setting the rest of the “beheaded” effigy on fire.

The atmosphere at the Yellow Vest protests in the heart of the French capital has become more strained as demonstrators engage in scuffles with police officers.

Saturday’s protest started with calm demonstrations but a few hours later tensions rose and police resorted to force against the rioters near the artistic Montmartre district in the north of the capital.

Covering Yellow Vest protests is a hard job for reporters as they often find themselves amid heavy clashes and clouds of tear gas. Look how RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij is getting ready for the sixth weekend of rallies.
“At RT we believe the best way to tell a story is to get to the heart of it – and that’s essentially what we as a team try to do in the protests,” explained Dubenskij, who has reported on the protests in the French capital.

Blue Vest Victory. Macron making further changes to budget after police organised strikes for the day, called Blue Vests, in solidarity with the Yellow Vest movement.

French police to receive a wage rise, increasing their average monthly salary €120 per month in 2019.

Already exhausted police forces have been called out for five straight weeks of Yellow Vest protests. They have complained of the exhausting hours of patrols and continued need for equipment.

Dozens of protesters have been wounded in demonstrations across Sudan, including the capital Khartoum, over rising food prices and economic mismanagement.

Thousands of people across the country took to the streets after Friday prayers to demonstrate against the government’s economic policies and called for President Omar Al-Bashir to step down. Today’s protests, organised under the hashtag “The cities of Sudan rise”, are the culmination of numerous rallies that have taken place throughout the week, resulting in a state of emergency being declared in several cities and schools closing until further notice.

The death toll linked to France’s anti-government “yellow vest” protests has risen to nine, the government said on Thursday, as demonstrators kept up major disruptions of road traffic.

“There has been a ninth death, this morning in Agen, by a roundabout. It was a ‘Yellow Vest’ who was protesting outside but was not following roadway safety instructions,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told reporters.

Local officials said the latest victim, a man aged about 60, was hit by a truck near a motorway where demonstrators had been gathering.

The videos show a chaotic scene. People are throwing rocks at vehicles as shots ring out. This footage was captured in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir on December 15. On that day, security forces opened fire on civilians, killing seven people. The protesters had taken to the streets to show their support for separatist rebels after the rebels faced off with security forces in a gun battle.

On December 15, a gun battle broke out between security forces and separatist rebels in Kharpora Sirnoo, a village in the Pulwama district. Four people were killed in these clashes.

Hundreds of civilians then poured into the street to protest in support of the separatist rebels. Some of them started throwing stones at the security forces, who then opened fire on them.

French security forces are ready to smother the centre of Paris with a ‘last resort’ chemical weapon in a bid to keep protesters away from key buildings, it has emerged.

Astonishing revelations about the debilitating powder – which can be spread across an area the size of six football pitches in just ten seconds – highlights the increasing desperation of President Emmanuel Macron’s administration as it faces up to a law and order crisis.

The country has been hit by five straight weeks of violence sparked by the Yellow Vests protest movement that has seen national monuments including the Arc de Triomphe ransacked.

They’ve endured tear gas and rubber bullets, but the Yellow Vests still possess ‘joie de vivre’ – joy of life. A rousing video of protesters dancing cheek-to-cheek as police close in captures the spirit of their movement.

Bloodied protesters on the streets of Paris may be grabbing headlines, but the true zeitgeist of the Yellow Vest movement can be found in the small town of Margencel in southeastern France.

Violence in Paris, right?

That’s what the useless news media would like you to believe.

The real action is in the countryside – and it’s been peaceful and devastatingly effective.

The government was brought to its knees in just one week.

It looks like the liberal President Macron has turned to his right-wing predecessor for help with the protests raging across France.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is widely considered to be a left-wing liberal, seems to have turned to his right-wing predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy — who led France from 2007 to 2012 — for assistance, as the so-called "Yellow Vests" protests ravage the country.

On December 7, the current and the former presidents met at the Elysee Palace for a lunch. According to Le Figaro, the two politicians discussed public order as well as Macron's recently announced tax exemption for overtime work.

The French government bowed to police demands for a salary boost and decades of unpaid overtime, according to a statement issued early Thursday by the Interior Ministry. It said that two days of meetings with three leading police unions produced an agreement to boost pay. The deal comes after police officers – stretched by containing violent ‘Yellow Vest’ demonstrators and guarding against extremist attacks – staged their own protests, including at the main Paris airport.

It is believed that the property in question had recently been repossessed and security personnel were guarding it at the time.

A number of vehicles were set on fire and a dog was also seriously injured and had to be put down as a result.

It is understood that the security personnel reported that people in high-vis jackets attacked them with baseball bats.

Before the birth of modern Israel, Zionist groups – newly arrived in Palestine – engaged in armed struggle against the British military, whom they labelled as “occupiers.” But now that the tables have turned (and the UN has enshrined the right of armed struggle as a vehicle of indigenous liberation) the Israeli occupation refuses to recognize the Palestinian resistance as legitimate.
Israeli military lives lost, while tragic, are sacrifices made willingly by the occupier who is fully aware that the resistance is ongoing.
Palestinians’ struggle for self-determination is a difficult, costly march; yet history teaches there is simply no other choice. Silence is surrender. To be silent is to betray all those who have come before and all those yet to follow.

Emergency no-deal Brexit contingency plans must now be implemented across government, cabinet ministers have agreed, including reserving ferry space for supplies and putting 3,500 armed forces personnel on standby to deal with any disruption.

No 10 confirmed on Tuesday that ministers would “ramp up” no-deal planning, and that the departments would be expected to make it their main priority.

Downing Street said it would send advice on preparing for no-deal to all UK businesses and suggested they should begin implementing their own contingency plans as they saw fit.

Theresa May’s spokesman said the cabinet “agreed that delivering the deal that the prime minister agreed with Brussels remains the government’s top priority and our best no-deal mitigation”.

Capital garners the gains, and labor's share continues eroding. That's the story of the 21st century.

The middle class, virtually by definition, is not prepared for downward mobility. A systemic, semi-permanent decline in the standard of living isn't part of the implicit social contract that's been internalized by the middle class virtually everywhere:living standards are only supposed to rise. Any decline is temporary.

Downward mobility is the key context in the gilets jaunes "yellow vest" movement in France. Taxes and prices rise inexorably while wages/pensions stagnate. The only possible outcome of this structural asymmetry is a decline in the standard of living.

PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron gave way to eurosceptic activists pushing for a ‘Frexit’ from the European Union (EU) on the eve of a mass police revolt, following five weeks of violent protests from the Yellow Vest movement.

Activists who are pushing for France to leave the EU won their first victory on Tuesday – and a step closer to the country voting on ‘Frexit’. The news comes as the country prepares for Black Wednesday and further riots in the nation. The beleaguered French President told ministers that he would consider changing the law to allow what he called “citizens’ initiative referendums”, following calls from Yellow Vest activists who have been putting the idea forward as part of their revolt against Mr Macron’s government.

The French government has sought to soothe police forces demanding improved working conditions by proposing a 300-euro (£270) bonus to officers deployed to the violent protests that started last month.

President Emmanuel Macron committed to the idea of protest duty pay earlier this month. The government's offer came a day after two police unions announced work slowdowns to protest staffing and other budget issues.

Interior minister Christophe Castaner is meeting police union representatives later. It is not clear if the proposed premiums would calm the growing anger in police ranks.

The damages have cost the road operator tens of millions of euros already.

French protesters, commonly referred to as "yellow vests," have occupied highways in France and set fire to toll booths, sparking chaos in the country's transport system just days before the Christmas holidays, according to a report by Reuters.

Vinci Autoroutes, France's largest toll road operator, has reported protesters occupying some 40 sites across its network and damaging some intersections. In particular, damaged intersections were reported in Avignon, Orange, Perpignan and Adage.

France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner is to meet with representatives of police unions on Tuesday evening, following complaints about strained resources in the wake of five straight weekends of violent protests. Two police unions complained Monday about working conditions and strained resources in light of the past few weeks of protests, which have seen officers sent in to clear road blockades and control demonstrations. The Alliance union has urged the government to invest in law enforcement while calling for a work slowdown on Wednesday to protest planned cuts in the national police budget.

Monday, January 7, 2019 at 8:30 AM PST

California State Capitol
1315 10th St, Sacramento, California 95814

What if protesters in Paris win, and the French government gives in to all their demands?

What if taxes are reduced, wages increased, President Macron steps down?

I am not talking only about the fuel tax; attempts to impose it have been already abandoned. I am not talking about increase of the minimum wage – the government already agreed to rise it by 100 euro per month.

What I am talking about are real, fundamental changes which many protesters seem to be desiring: substantial tax reduction for the majority of French citizens, generous increase in wages and enhancement of social benefits for all.

So, if the Yellow Vests manage to win all this, then what will happen? Who would benefit? But also, who would lose?

*

One of my readers recently wrote to me that France should reduce its military budget and from those billions of euro saved, could easily finance demands of the protesters.

The French are the best. The men don’t get fat. The women don’t sleep alone. The kids are well-behaved. They have the best architecture, the best way of living, best bread, best wine, best olive oil, best cooking, some of the best writing, films, painting, poetry, perfume – and women. They also excel in revolutions. Each revolution of theirs is a peach, perfect, round and juicy. They open a new epoch for mankind.

Just thinking of a French revolution makes me feel young, for I remember the previous one, in May 1968, and it was a beauty, the revolution of Forbidden to Forbid. It ushered us into the short-living paradise of permissible. Believe it or not, we could freely flirt with the opposite sex, we could smoke in the pubs and cafés, we could have a drink and drive. We could rent a room for small price, and roam Europe for $5 a day. Workers weren’t fired, jobs were aplenty, there were no one-year contracts, parking was free and gasoline cheap. Oh yes, and the cotton was high.

TV channel France3 has “fixed” a placard held by a Yellow Vest protester, which urged President Emmanuel Macron to resign. The broadcaster explained that the sign was broadcast reading just Macron, due to a “human error.”
The unfortunate blunder occurred on Saturday during an evening news program that was covering the ongoing Yellow Vest protests.

Among videos and images of the protests, France3 featured a photo supplied by Agence France Presse (AFP). It shows a couple of mounted police officers watching the crowds outside the Opera building in Paris on Saturday. One of the Yellow Vests holds high a placard, reading “Macron out.”

Police have deployed water cannon during a rally against the controversial UN migration pact in Brussels. Officers were seen scuffling with protesters, who threw firecrackers before facing off with law-enforcement.

The rally was dubbed the ‘March against Marrakech’ in reference to the city where the pact was signed earlier in December. It was organized by the right-wing Vlaams Belang party which has long been a vocal opponent of the agreement.

While having initially kicked off peacefully, the demonstration started to heat up with some of the participants burning firecrackers and hurling bottles as they marched down the street.

The French government is set to rush tax cuts and a rise in the minimum wage through parliament in a bid to end the “yellow vest” protests which appear to be waning after a month of disruption.

The measures announced a week ago by President Emmanuel Macron will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and put to the National Assembly and the Senate for votes before Christmas, officials said.

But in the meantime, the protesters must dismantle their road blocks, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Monday, warning that “we can’t continue to paralyse the French economy.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has acknowledged that the government made mistakes while handing the massive Yellow Vest protests that have gripped the country for the past five weeks.
“We made mistakes. We did not listen enough to the French people. I remain convinced that they want this country to be transformed,” he told Les Echoes newspaper on Sunday.

Violence at the demonstrations has been hitting record levels with hundreds of protesters injured since November 17. At least seven people died during the protests. Police officers have also suffered injuries.

French cities descended into chaos, with protesters smashing store windows, looting, overturning cars, and burning barricades. City centers were shrouded in fog from tear gas, smoke grenades and firecrackers. Earlier in December, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire admitted that the protests were a “catastrophe” for the country's economy and businesses.

French intelligence services have not found any signs of Russia's alleged involvement in the dissemination of false information related to the protests that are currently taking place in the country, local media reported on Sunday, citing an intelligence source.

According to the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, as of the end of this week, neither the French Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) nor the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) managed to establish any facts proving Russia's direct involvement in the spread of fake news or conspiracy rumours within the framework of the "yellow vest" movement.

A BBC stringer has admitted that the broadcaster is in the search of any proof of Russia’s alleged role in the "Yellow Vests" protests in Paris, demanding that its journalists seek any leads that would point to Moscow, a correspondence obtained by Sputnik showed.

Sputnik has obtained the correspondence of the BBC journalist, who wrote a message to one of the stringers covering Yellow Vest demonstrations in Paris, trying to find out whether Russia had something to do with the protests in the French capital. The stringer, in turn, explained that she had not seen any Russians at the protests.

The Indiscreet Charm of the Gilets Jaunes

So it appears the privatization of France isn’t going quite as smoothly as planned. As I assume you are aware, for over a month now, the gilets jaunes (or “yellow vests”), a multiplicitous, leaderless, extremely pissed off, confederation of working class persons, have been conducting a series of lively protests in cities and towns throughout the country to express their displeasure with Emmanuel Macron and his efforts to transform their society into an American-style neo-feudal dystopia. Highways have been blocked, toll booths commandeered, luxury automobiles set on fire, and shopping on the Champs-Élysées disrupted. What began as a suburban tax revolt has morphed into a bona fide working class uprising.

Unlike the 2014 Ukraine uprising, which witnessed invasive meddling on the part of US politicians and diplomats, Western support for the French Yellow Vest protests has been conspicuously missing in action.

The streets of Paris are ablaze for a fourth weekend in a row, as a swarm of Yellow Vests assert themselves against a French government which, they argue, has become increasingly detached from the cares of ordinary citizens. Yet support among Western capitals for the protesters is nowhere to be found.

Outraged by the rising cost of living and price hikes on basic services, Israeli citizens who were inspired by the French Yellow Vest movement took to the streets of Tel Aviv demanding concessions from the government.
Wearing bright fluorescent yellow vests, symbolic of the French grassroots movement, some 600 Israeli activists blocked the Azrieli intersection and adjacent roads in the city center, accusing the government of “robbing” the people.

General Antoine Martinez has written the letter signed by ten other generals, an admiral and colonel, and also includes former French Minister of Defense Charles Millon.

They’ve given strong warning that Macron’s signing the U.N. Global Migration Pact strips France of even more sovereignty providing an additional reason for “an already battered people” to “revolt”.

The highly decorated military co-signees assert that the beleaguered Macron is “guilty of a denial of democracy or treason against the nation” for signing the migration pact without putting it to the people.

“The French state is late in coming to realize the impossibility of integrating too many people, in addition to totally different cultures, who have regrouped in the last forty years in areas that no longer submit to the laws of the Republic,” the letter advises, also saying that mass immigration is erasing France’s “civilizational landmarks”.

Protesters again took to the streets in Budapest to demonstrate against the “slave law” on Thursday evening. The demonstration started peacefully but police later responded to aggressive protestors with teargas.

The opposition, in a hopeless position, made clowns of themselves in parliament, acting aggressively and colluding with the Soros organisations that organised violent street protests

French President Emmanuel Macron has held a press conference on the second day of the European Council's summit in Brussels.

Macron's address comes as the protests organised by the Yellow Vests movement in France are poised to enter their fifth week on Saturday despite the fact that the government had agreed to cancel the fuel tax hike and raise the minimum wage in line with the demonstrators' demands.

"The country needs calm, it needs order, it needs to find a normal functioning", Emmanuel Macron stated at the press conference in Brussels when asked whether he planned to call on the protest movement's participants to avoid taking part in Saturday's rally.

France has already seen four weekends of unrest after thousands took to the streets in Paris to protest high fuel prices. As demonstrations turned violent, the protestors smashed store windows and set cars on fire, prompting police to use tear gas and water cannons.

France is bracing for unrest as the Yellow Vests have been holding a rally— called Acte 5: Macron Démission (Act 5: Macron's Resignation) — for the fifth weekend, with 70,000 police officers being mobilised ahead of the demonstrations.

According to the organisers of the protests, this weekend the Yellow Vests are rallying "for social justice and tax, for a real democracy, for equal rights, for a true ecological transition."

Yellow vest-wearing activists took to the streets of London on Friday, blocking traffic and chanting pro-Brexit slogans. They spoke to Sputnik about their mistrust in politicians and hopes for a clean exit from the European Union.

An activist told Sputnik they voted for Brexit because they wanted to reclaim control of their own country.

"We don't want to be part of the federal European superstate that's going to erode our rights and take away democracy. This is Britain. We are not European. We have never been European. This is our land and we are taking it back. If the political class don't like it, they will see a revolution like they've never seen before. It is time to take up the spirit of Oliver Cromwell, rise up and reclaim what's rightfully ours," a protester told Sputnik.

Paris is bracing for yet another round of Yellow Vest protests, with demonstrators planning to take to the streets on Saturday. More than 10,000 people have already RSVP'd on Facebook to the ‘Acte 5: Macron Démission’ march.

The demonstration is scheduled to take place in the French capital on the Champs-Élysées.

The organizers, consisting of some 15 groups, have outlined their list of demands on Facebook, saying they will continue their action against Macron until all their demands are met.

The Paris riots are and were as predictable as sex producing babies and Paris today is only a precursor to what can happen in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Seattle tomorrow if we allow Zealots and Lunatics to run America into the ground for political agendas that fly in the face of individual freedom and liberty. Trillions for climate change is one of those lunatic fringe agendas that has nothing to do with climate and everything to do with the elite’s control of the world’s masses and wealth redistribution from developed countries to un-developed countries where the world’s elite controls the flow of the money.

Somehow we avoid the “truth” that if you squeeze a tomato hard enough, eventually it will ooze out between your fingers. Paris is oozing right now because of the strangling power of the moneylenders and the zealots and lunatics in government and radical fringe organizations! And let’s not forget that Parisians don’t have the right to bear arms. Americans do!

The European Commission's decade-long tough austerity measures coupled with excessive taxation have resulted in the "yellow vests" movement, Andy Vermaut, a Belgian human rights activist, told Sputnik.

"In reality, the struggle of the Gilet Jaunes [Yellow Vests] is a cry for help from people who struggle every month for existence", said Andy Vermaut, a Belgian human rights activist, emphasising that "working is no longer a guarantee for being able to exist properly" in Europe.

The "yellow vest" protests have engulfed France since November 17 with around 136,000 people having participated in the protests nationwide on December 8, according to France 24 television broadcaster. Meanwhile, the number of those arrested have mounted to over 1,700.

President Macron is often presented as a Rothschild Boy. This is true, but secondary. Thierry Meyssan demonstrates that he owes his electoral campaign mostly to Henry Kravis, the boss of one of the world’s largest financial companies, and to NATO – a considerable debt which weighs heavily today on the solution to the Yellow Vests crisis.

Today, the search is on for a larger explanation of the mayhem. Needless to say, some are blaming Putin. Yet until such time as Russian agent provocateurs are found in the streets of Paris, it’s hard to conclude that Muscovite incitement is anything more than schadenfreude via the Internet.

Speaking of the Internet, on December 6, Buzzfeed argued, “The yellow jackets are a beast born almost entirely from Facebook.” That is, Mark Zuckerberg’s company is the problem. As the article asserts, “The yellow jackets communicate almost entirely on small, decentralized Facebook pages.”

This description of the yellow jackets’ preferred medium might well be accurate, but it’s also true that activists, even revolutionaries, found ways of communicating before electricity, to say nothing of social media.

Nationalism is putting your countrymen above your government
Earlier this week in Thailand, a shocking turn of events took place. Ordered to harass and block protestors , policemen instead yielded to the peaceful riot by laying down their barricades and helmets as a sign of solidarity

The gathering protestors explained that their goal is to destroy the political machine of former Prime Minister Thakskin Shinawatra, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power. The present Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, is Thakskin’s sister and is seen as a puppet of her brother. In a move to topple the Shinawatra government, protestors planned on storming the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau. This act was devised and led by protest leader, Suthep Thaugsuban.

But what police did instead surprised many. Their lowering of arms and joining with protestors marks a turning point in the protests and a potential shift in power.

The French President tried to quell Yellow Vest protests by vowing to increase the minimum wage and cut some taxes, but it means nothing to farmers working long hours and living on slim budgets, their union head told RT France.
President Emmanuel Macron sought to appease Yellow Vest demonstrators, offering them concessions after weeks of massive protests. A monthly minimum wage hike by €100 ($113) and tax decreases for the poor among them.

But Veronique le Floch, Secretary General of ‘Coordination rurale’ (Rural Coordination), a labor union of French farmers, told RT France Macron had only embraced wage earners but failed to deliver a similar promise to those employed in agriculture.

French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on 3 December spoke in favour of raising wages, accelerating cuts in public spending, and taxes in France in the wake of violent "yellow vests" protests.

French unions are marching demanding an increase in wages, pensions, and against cuts to social protection in Paris. The rally kicked off at about 1 p.m. local time on Friday (12:00 GMT) at the Place de la Republique and, people are moving toward the Place de la Nation. A group of students is chanting slogans against the policy of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The rally is taking place amid violent protests by the "yellow vests", which have been raging for weeks. The demonstrations have been marked by violent clashes with police officers, who have used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters.

The Yellow Vest demonstration is underway as British Prime Minister Theresa May is holding negotiations with EU leaders in a bid to improve the contentious Withdrawal Deal.

Yellow vest pro-Brexit protesters, similar to those who took recently to French streets, have blocked Westminster Bridge this morning, paralysing traffic.

Supporters of the opposition parties gathered in front of Parliament on Wednesday afternoon to protest against changes to the labour code adopted earlier in the day.

The protesters, many of whom chanted “down with the government”, marched from the Parliament building to Margaret Bridge and then on to ruling Fidesz headquarters near the City Park.

Two demonstrators climbed on a balcony, while others attempted to enter the building.

The demonstration in front of the Fidesz building ended at 7pm, but participants went back to Parliament. By 9pm the crowd filled Kossuth Square in front of the building, and threw objects at the police cordon.

Governments in North America are largely totalitarian already. It’s a covert form of totalitarianism best described as “inverted totalitarianism[1]”. One result is that people in North America for the most part have no appreciation of substantive geopolitical issues.

Consequently, we are being robbed blind, and our diseconomies are being further destroyed, for the benefit of Al Qaeda, and transnational oligarch classes. Truth is stranger than fiction.

The only glimmer of hope at the moment are the Gilets Jaunes[2] protests in France. Macron’s tax grab is all about serving imperial agendas at the expense not only of target countries, but also at the expense of a habitable planet, and a sustainable French economy as well.

Canadians spent over $32 billion[3] in 2017-2018 alone for a military that supports NATO’s globalizing, entirely toxic and supremely criminal agenda. Al Qaeda and like-minded terrorists in Syria have benefited for years thanks to our largesse.

Protests by workers and unions spread through the Hungarian capital, where demonstrators shouted “free country!” while stopping traffic and hurling obscenities before they reached the the headquarters of Mr Orban’s ruling Fidesz party to demand he scrap the controversial labour laws of the EU nation. Slamming the new legislation as a “slave law”, they blocked a major bridge while waving flags and placards with shackled farm animals on. The new law triggered furious letters to EU figureheads Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and Antonio Tajani, all in the same EPP coalition in the European Parliament with Mr Obran, demanding they intervene.

One read: “We call on you, as prominent figures in the European People’s Party, to demand that the party’s leaders take immediate action to uphold the fundamental principles on which both the EPP and the EU itself are based and make it clear that there is no room in the EPP for parties like Fidesz.”

Several French lawmakers tabled a motion of no confidence, with a vote to be held on Thursday in the wake of President Emmanuel Macron's handling of the "gilets jaunes" ("yellow vests") crisis.

André Chassaigne, of the French Communist Party; Olivier Faure, from the Socialist Party; and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) movement, along with 59 members of the National Assembly — the French parliamentary body — put out a joint statement while filing a motion of no confidence against Macron's government, the AFP reported.