Yellow vests protests

A French protest movement that began in 2018 with demonstrations and road blockades against fuel taxes, economic inequality, and perceived political neglect.

Carbon tax: A tax on carbon dioxide emissions, usually imposed on fossil fuels to discourage greenhouse-gas emissions. A planned increase in fuel taxes helped trigger the first demonstrations.
Roundabout occupation: The occupation of a road junction to obstruct traffic and maintain a visible protest presence. Roundabouts became recurring local bases for demonstrations and blockades.
Emmanuel Macron: The French president elected in 2017 and reelected in 2022. Protesters directed many demands and criticisms at his government and economic policies.
Grand débat national: A French public consultation launched by Emmanuel Macron’s government in 2019 after the Yellow Vests protests. The government presented it as a response to demands for greater public participation.
Bonnet rouge movement: A 2013 protest movement in Brittany against an ecotax on heavy goods vehicles and broader economic pressures. It also used road blockades and distinctive clothing to oppose a transport-related tax.
Fuel tax in France: Taxes levied on fuels in France, including the domestic consumption tax on energy products. The proposed rise in fuel taxation became the movement’s immediate catalyst.
Road blockade: The obstruction of a road to restrict or stop the movement of vehicles. Blockades disrupted transport and made the movement’s demands visible across France.
Édouard Philippe: A French politician who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2020. As prime minister during the protests’ first year, he negotiated the government’s response.
Fuel tax freeze in France, 2018: The French government’s suspension of planned fuel-tax increases in December 2018. The suspension was an immediate concession to one of the movement’s original demands.
Anti-CPE protests: The 2006 French student and labor protests against a proposed youth employment contract. Unlike the Yellow Vests, these protests relied heavily on universities and established unions.

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Protests against responses to the COVID-19 pandemicRelated: Its protest networks and anti-establishment themes influenced some pandemic-era demonstrations.