YELLOW VESTS MOVEMENT

About:

• Nomenclature:
  • The Yellow vest movement is also known Yellow Jacket movement. In French it is known as “Mouvement des GILETS JAUNES”.
    
    
  • It is known as so because the people taking part wear high-visibility vests of Yellow colour, which all drivers in France are required to keep in their cars.
    
    
  
  
  
• Spread: The movement has been most visible in French cities. The movement has inspired imitation, particularly in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
  
  
• Timeline:
  • The movement began with a petition posted in May 2018.
    
    
  • The protests began in mid-November 2018, and attracted over 300,000 people across France, with protestors constructing barricades and blocking roads.
    
    
  
  
  
• Reason for movement:
  • People are protesting because of anger over rising diesel fuel prices and taxes, high cost of living and the perception that the government was passing a disproportionate amount of the austerity bill and ecology bill on to the working and middle class.
    
    
  • The immediate trigger for the protest wave was French Government’s decision to raise tax on diesel fuel in a move to encourage the driving of less-polluting cars.