SHAFAQNA- Press TV: A social movement in France has not stopped just to take a winter holiday, for the second consecutive year. Just days before Christmas the Yellow Vest anti-government movement marched for the 58th consecutive weekend nationwide.
In many ways this wish has already come true: it was also Day 17 of the ongoing General Strike, which was undoubtedly inspired by the Yellow Vests’ demand for more economic equality and more democracy.
President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to junk the pension system and replace it with an unprecedented universal scheme is the main reason for the strike, but half the country says the general strike is about the ensemble of Macron’s policies.
The union-led action has put the Yellow Vests in the passenger seat, but both the strikers and the Yellow Vests are supported by well-over 60% of the nation.
The ascendancy of Yellow Vest political culture has come at great cost: 11,000 people have been arrested, at least 2,000 convicted,1,000 imprisoned, 5,000 seriously hurt and 1,000 critically injured.
This week the French state finally prosecuted the first case of police brutality against the Yellow Vests.
A policeman was filmed throwing rocks into a crowd of protesters. He was convicted but given a minor sentence which did not include prison time, nor was his identity divulged, nor will the conviction even appear on his legal record.
After two weeks the government finally met with unions, but nothing close to a compromise was reached. The strike is now guaranteed to last into early January, at least, while the Yellow Vests will likely be rallying for social justice even after the strike is over.
Read more from Shafaqna:
France: General strike may continue into 2020+ Video
France: Yellow Vests march as nation preps for important general strike+ Video