Will gilets jaunes form a political party?

They have so far been associated mostly with road blockages and street protests, but Hayk Shahinyan, a prominent figure in the movement in the Seine-Maritime area, has announced: “We’re getting organised – we’re going to present a list in the European elections.”

If they did, they could win as much as 12% of the vote, behind an En Marche/MoDem list with 21%, according to an Ipsos poll for Le Journal du Dimanche.

That could put them in the running for second place. In comparison, green party EELV won 9% and six seats in 2014; the Socialists won 14% and 13 seats.

Commentators say they could become a French version of Italy’s 5 Star Movement but many point to the lack of clear leadership and a defined list of demands.

After concessions and four weekends of disruption, 66% of the French still said they supported the protests. At the same time, 49% found the president’s response “convincing” and 54% thought the movement should stop, according to an OpinionWay poll. A ‘fifth act’ of protests went ahead with 66,000 – half as many as the Saturday before – joining in, said the Interior Ministry.

Their demands are varied, with a significant number seeking to see President Macron removed from office.

They include “citizens’ initiative referendums” – the right for the people to create or modify a law without going via parliament or government if it is supported by 700,000 signatures – ending homelessness, raising disability benefits and new caps on rents.

After a month of blockages on roundabouts and péages and – sometimes violent – street protests, the president announced concessions, including €100 more a month for those on the minimum wage, axing a planned rise in tax on diesel, suspending a new tougher contrôle technique on diesel cars for six months, ending tax on overtime, and axing higher social charges on pensions for those with income under €2,000 a month.

One of the unwitting founders of the movement, Jacline Mouraud, who made a passionate video against the fuel tax but has since been disowned by many hardliners, has called for an end to the blockages. She told Connexion: “The changes made by the president are in the right direction, even if they do not go far enough. His tone was serious and marked with humility. We must now transform the movement to limit the impact on the economy.”

She said the government planned to organise ‘citizens’ rendez-vous’ meetings and people should take part, so problems are heard, and “build, not destroy”.

‘Red scarves’ grow to claim 30,000 supporters

The foulards rouges (red scarves) – a movement opposed to the methods of the gilets jaunes – now claim to have more than 30,000 supporters.

Spokesman “Loïc” (he withheld his surname, saying members had received threats) said: “Everyone in the group has their own opinion on the root cause of the gilets jaunes.

“Some agree there are too many taxes, others say people shouldn’t complain about them. We’re not aiming to enter that debate – we are only against the way the gilets jaunes are expressing themselves. We condemn the violence, and lots of people started joining us after the street riots in Paris”. He says that although the gilets jaunes have been infiltrated by extremists from far left and far right groups, some are themselves pro-violence.

“That’s our first point: we are anti-violence. Our second is that we want the freedom to circulate, as written in article 13 of Declaration of Human Rights. We are against the fact that many small businesses are losing money through this.” He doubts the concessions will be enough. “It won’t stop because the gilets jaunes are not all asking for the same things. Some want a referendum, even though they don’t have a question to ask, some want to topple the government.”

The group is run through Facebook and, as an IT professional, Loïc says its influence is huge. “Now Facebook promotes content from groups over content in pages, so you see more of what you like, meaning you consume more Facebook. It’s a business, after all, but it means you get into your bubble where you think everyone agrees with you.”