After France’s ‘Yellow Vests’, who are the ‘Red Scarves’ and the ‘Blue Vests’?

For 11 Saturdays, France’s “Yellow Vests” have paralysed much of the country with road blockades and by thronging the streets of Paris and other cities. On Sunday, the growing “Red Scarves” and “Blue Vest” counter movements are set to demonstrate.

Politics 15:23 27.01.2019

With slogans like “Enough!” and “End the violence”, the Red Scarves, the Blue Vests and the “STOP, that’s enough now”, first surfaced at the end of last year, after the first few Yellow Vest protests had upended weekend traffic at strategic road points and resulted in the worst rioting in Paris in decades, costing taxpayers millions of euros. At first, the movements were mainly contained to social media networks, but as the Yellow Vest protests persisted into the new year, these alternative groups have joined forces to stage their first “anti-Yellow Vest” protest in Paris this Sunday – a day after the Yellow Vests stage “Act XI” of their nationwide demonstrations.

“We denounce the insurrectional climate installed by the Yellow Vests. We also reject the threats and constant verbal abuse [suffered by non-Yellow Vests],” they said in their joint manifesto.

On Saturday, nearly 10,000 people had ticked the participation box on the “#RepublicanMarchForFreedom” Facebook event page, and 27,000 people had said they were interested in going.

‘People can’t get to work’

The Red Scarves saw the light of the day in November, and began as a Facebook group set up by John Christophe Werner from the southern French region of Vaucluse. In an interview with regional newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, Werner said he had created the group because French “citizens are being penalised every day by the Yellow Vests’ methods”.

“Today, a lot of people are scared to leave their houses, to use the roads, to drive to their jobs.”

On the group’s website, multiple people recount how they’ve been verbally abused for not wearing the same reflective yellow west that the anti-government protesters wear, how they have been forced to sign petitions calling for President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation in order to get through roadblocks on their way to work, and how they have been accused of belonging to the bourgeoisie for not buying into the Yellow Vests demands.

The Blue Vest movement was founded by 36-year-old legal expert Laurent Segnis and cropped up on Twitter in November to protest “the blockades, the violence, the unjustified restrictions on the freedom to come and go as you please, the attacks on freedom of opinion (if you’re not a Yellow Vest, you’re wealthy, or worse)”.

Segnis, who claims he makes less than €1,650 per month and lives in an HLM (French social housing), said he created the group because despite living under the very same conditions that many Yellow Vest supporters do, he couldn’t identify with either their methods or their demands.

‘Won’t be held hostage’

The Facebook group “STOP, that’s enough now” was set up by 51-year-old aeronautics engineer Laurent Soulié from the southwestern city of Toulouse in mid-December to allow “the French who’ve stayed quiet for six weeks to finally have their say”.

In an interview with AFP earlier this week, he said that he saw the creation of the group as a necessity because the Yellow Vest protests did not appear to calm down at all despite the concessions made by the government to try to meet some of their demands.

“I have a house that needs a good coat of paint, I've been driving the same car for 12 years, and I go through my accounts at the end of every month to ensure I’ve not got overdrawn,” he said, refuting the “wealth” label some Yellow Vests have attributed to him.

Forty-one-year-old Caroline Garcin, a former nurse from the southern city of Montpellier and who lives on a disability allowance due to deafness, told AFP that she decided to join the Red Scarves after being verbally abused by Yellow Vest supporters at a roundabout in November because she didn’t wear a yellow reflective vest. “I felt totally alone in the world facing this wave of hatred,” she said, adding that after joining the Red Scarves, she found “a France that was enlightened, calm and respectful".

Garcin said that although she understands the Yellow Vests’ “sense of social and fiscal injustice”, she refuses to “be held hostage” by them, saying she finds it unacceptable to support a cause that “calls for a lynching or the killing of a cop”.

Azerbaijan takes measures to turn Khankandi into safe city - VİDEO

News line

Russian investigators have evidence of Ukraine link to Crocus terrorists
22:24 28.03.2024
Committee members of the EU Council will visit the South Caucasus region
19:48 28.03.2024
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
Bayern to pay Thomas Tuchel 12M euro compensation
19:00 28.03.2024
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
Crocus City Hall terrorists took drugs before attack - law enforcement agencies
18:33 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan, UN Development Program mull future co-op
18:00 28.03.2024
An Independent Trade Union Established within International Eurasia Press Fund - First in NGO sector - PHOTOS
17:39 28.03.2024
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine
17:23 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan lends clarity to color requirement for taxis
17:02 28.03.2024
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
Isaac Herzog: Israel has no greater friend than US, and US has no greater friend than Israel
16:45 28.03.2024
Nigerian army eliminates over 200 militants in 2 weeks
16:30 28.03.2024
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
Armored Vehicle Coalition for Ukraine launched in Poland
16:15 28.03.2024
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
Russia strengthens transport security measures after terror attack at Crocus City Hall
15:55 28.03.2024
Türkiye plays an important role between Russia and Ukraine - says political scientist Ismail Cingoz
15:45 28.03.2024
2 schoolchildren detained in France on suspicion of sending bomb threats
15:35 28.03.2024
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
Ski resort in Georgia hit by avalanche
15:26 28.03.2024
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
Another protest against French colonialism held in New Caledonia, Azerbaijani flag raised
15:15 28.03.2024
Media: US did not transfer all information about terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall to Russia
15:00 28.03.2024
Movement ‘Together’ calls on Armenia’s parliamentary forces to express vote of no confidence in Pashinyan
14:41 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
Azerbaijan to participate in international trade fair in Istanbul
14:32 28.03.2024
Le Pen accuses French government of fraud
14:22 28.03.2024
Armenian Government Grapples with Internal Division on Village Return Issue - Ishkhan Verdiyan talks on Ednews
14:12 28.03.2024
Ammunition found along route of Crocus City Hall terrorists
Ammunition found along route of Crocus City Hall terrorists
13:41 28.03.2024
Expert Ilyas Huseynov Predicts Peaceful Return of these territories to Azerbaijan
13:20 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan weather forecast for March 29
Azerbaijan weather forecast for March 29
12:55 28.03.2024
Russian MFA concerned about upcoming Armenia-US-EU meeting
12:23 28.03.2024
Secret Points of Pashinyan's Meeting with French Representative: Is Peace Agreement Signing Imminent?
12:00 28.03.2024
Armenia announces recruitment of border guards to work at Zvartnots
Armenia announces recruitment of border guards to work at Zvartnots
11:47 28.03.2024
The US-Armenia-EU Joint Conference is a part of the pressure plan on Azerbaijan - MP Konul Nurullayeva
11:30 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan’s central bank reduces discount rate
Azerbaijan’s central bank reduces discount rate
11:23 28.03.2024
CSTO chief: ‘Yerevan doesn’t participate in our work, but there are no statements about suspension’
11:13 28.03.2024
Ammunition found in Khankandi
Ammunition found in Khankandi
11:00 28.03.2024
Russia had been aware of preparation for terrorist attack at Crocus - says intelligience chief
10:46 28.03.2024
Scholtz reveals date of his last telephone conversation with Putin
Scholtz reveals date of his last telephone conversation with Putin
10:33 28.03.2024
Head of the SSS: France is inciting Armenia to a new war
10:21 28.03.2024
Are we in the brink of World War III? - Pundit talks on Ednews
10:10 28.03.2024
Azerbaijan's National Security: Reflecting on 105 Years of Defending Sovereignty
09:55 28.03.2024
Hikmat Hajiyev: Rasmussen fell in forgetfulness to attach payment to his report
09:35 28.03.2024
Hand grenades found in Kalbajar
09:25 28.03.2024
Titanic 'door' prop that kept Rose alive sells for $718,750
Titanic 'door' prop that kept Rose alive sells for $718,750
08:50 28.03.2024
Twitch's biggest streamer diagnosed with cancer diagnosis at 32
23:55 27.03.2024
Hamısı