Message from @TN Homesteader
Discord ID: 513388514755346453
Price hike
Diesel prices have surged 16% this year from an average €1.24 ($1.41) per liter to €1.48 ($1.69), even hitting €1.53 in October, according to UFIP, France's oil industry federation.
The price hike is largely caused by a leap in the wholesale price of oil, with Brent Crude oil -- a benchmark for worldwide oil purchases -- increasing by more than 20% in the first half of 2018 from around $60 a barrel to a peak of $86.07 in early October.
A protest against rising fuel and oil prices takes place in Nice, southeastern France, on November 15.
French protesters are, however, not directing their anger at Opec for reducing oil production, or at the US administration for implementing tariffs on Iran, crippling its oil exports.
Macron is instead bearing the brunt of widespread French discontent, with many protesters furious at the current leader's extension of environmental policies implemented under François Hollande's government.
Notably, taxes were increased by 8 centimes last January on diesel, and by 4 centimes on petrol. Tax on diesel will also increase by another 6.4 centimes in 2019, and by 2.9 centimes for petrol. These rises follow many decades of under-taxation of diesel in France.
Macron criticized
The growing resentment has also been a springboard for partisan political attacks, with opponents of Macron's centrist En Marche party attempting to energize their bases to fuel further revolt.
"This government hasn't understood the anger of the French," Olivier Faure, head of the French Socialist Party, said Wednesday.
"Macron has not heard the French," Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the center-right party Les Républicains, added in an interview for BFMTV and RMC radio.
Meanwhile, Macron's former nemesis Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Rally, said: "We were the first party to express our total support for this movement."
Castaner hit back at Macron's opponents, branding the protests "political" and accusing Les Républicains of being behind them.
"It's a political protest with the Republicans behind it, and it's irrational because the rising taxes have been compensated by the decline in the oil market," he told CNN's French affiliate BFM-TV. "We hear the protests, we hear the anger, I know the situation, but we have to explain that it's essential that we exit fossil fuels."
The minister said police would be present to break up any dangerous roadblocks. "I am asking for the roads to not be completely blocked," Castaner said. "Where there is a roadblock -- which means there's a risk for emergency services -- there will be police."
Macron struck a more conciliatory tone in an interview Wednesday, saying: "I hear the anger, and it's a fundamental right in our society to be allowed to express it."
He nevertheless admitted that he was "wary because many different people are trying to piggyback on this movement."
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe also announced close to €500 million in aid to low-income motorists in a key concession Wednesday.
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peuple blocage france
PARIS —
Drivers in France are planning to block roads across the country to protest rising fuel taxes, in a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.
Protesters pledge to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that rings Paris on Saturday. The government is preparing to send police to remove protesters and threatening fines.
The taxes are part of Macron’s strategy of weaning France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency seen as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties.
The protesters have dubbed themselves the “yellow jackets” because they wear fluorescent vests that all French drivers must keep in their vehicles in case of car troubles.
Separately, ambulances briefly blocked Paris’ Champs-Elysees on Friday to protest new rules on ambulance financing and put pressure on Macron’s government.
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@Smiley Good morning. Have a Great Thanksgiving with your family. We are on our way to LA to go camping
Cool
A very good discussion last night about the "deepstate", lol, between E. Michael Jones and Cynthia McKinney, that all americans need to hear. https://youtu.be/8yCBbVLmZ2M
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bbl
