Le Grand Debat

The “yellow vests” (gillets jaunes) got only passing attention in the British newspapers which have had more dramatic (in the full sense of the word) events to focus on – nothing less than the sinking of the reputation of a nation whose policies, institutions and citizens were, until very recently, taken very seriously…

BBC Television stopped broadcasting in this part of the world some years ago but this household, fortunately, still has access to the French and German channels viz TV5 Monde and Deutsche Welle. Although we miss some of the BBC dramas, the quality of particularly the TV5 documentaries is quite stunning…although it is Michel Onfray whose programme tops the viewing

So, apart from some short Guardian pieces, the only English language coverage of the gillets jaunes protests and reactions I’ve been able to access are two or three articles on the great Open Democacy site; the first by Bruno Dreano, Yellow Fever in France (11 December); the second by Philippe Marli (17 December); and the last a long and incomprehensible piece by  French philosopher Etienne Balibar (20 December).

France’s reputation was saved, however, by the clarity of the only article – Who are the Gilets Jaunes? - which has so far appeared about the protests in the Eurozine journal

But this past week I’ve been catching up on my reading about the issue – thanks mainly to what’s available in Bucharest’s kiosks. In November a reference to Le Point caught my eye and encouraged me to buy a few copies of a centre-right weekly which has a freshness I find lacking in le Nouvel Ob . It also has four times the circulation of similar UK journals – let lone greater depth.

Nouveau Magazine Literaire is a monthly which I’ve also started buying. Its January edition has good coverage of the gillets jaunes - as well as a curious (“none-Eurocentric”) feature which identifies 35 global thinkers.

And, despite previous issues of the leftwing Le Monde Diplomatique putting me off (by the sheer scale of its foreign coverage), I was persuaded to buy the current issue – since most of it seems to be devoted to the gilets jaunes. A long article on “The unsuspected power of the French female workforce” gives a good sense of the depth you can expect in LMD

I have fond memories of Le Monde (which sadly I can no longer find in Bucharest) even if I regret its cessation of the wonderful footnotes (still amazingly retained by LMD). But I was seduced today by the offer of a month’s electronic access - for only one euro. We shall see how its daily presence affects my perception of the world…All French journals have a paywall..- as well as the German heavies - although my father’s favourite, Hamburg-based Die Zeit, still seems freely accessible. 

At this point, of course, I need to pay tribute to The Guardian newspaper whose website remains free to access – in its totality. And is the lifeblood of this blog…

After his concessions of December 10th, Macron launched a strategy for dealing with the challenge of les gillets jaunes on 15 January - with an open letter and invitation to "Le Grand Debat" which has 4 themes "fiscality and public spending”; “the shape of public services”; “the ecological transition”; and “democracy and the citizen". The debate is scheduled to run until 15 March – with local mayors playing an important role in encouraging “voice” and a college of 5 “sages” playing an as yet unclear role … ....

What a contrast with how the UK dealt with the divisions which faced the country after the Brexit vote......!! I can’t recall many voices calling there for a “healing” – let alone a consensual conversation. Gordon Brown’s first such suggestions came only a couple of months ago.