The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement sweeping through France continues to defy all categorisation. More than two months after the first rallies at roundabouts across the country, the rebellion has mobilised the rural poor and small-business owners disillusioned by the right, as well as manual workers and public sector employees disillusioned by the left. Far from being an uprising of the poor against the rich, the gilets jaunes reflect a popular majority composed of the working and lower-middle classes who are not represented by any political party.
Even as the movement is divided between those who want to harden the protests and those who hope to enter politics (by contesting the European Parliament elections in May), it is united around a demand for democracy and the building of a common life. In times of deep discontent, the gilets jaunes’ fight for greater economic equality and social solidarity resonates with a majority of French people (who polls show support the movement).
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