Many angered French protesters have been gathered on the streets of the French capital to demand France’s expulsion from the U.S.-led NATO military alliance. The protesters also demanded the demise of France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
The demonstration is similar to those that are being held throughout Europe in protest of the government of their country’s support for the conflict in Ukraine. The continuous supply of weapons from mainly NATO members has intensified the war across Eastern Europe, leading to the suffering of the civilians trapped in the gunfire.
If Russia voiced legitimate concern over the NATO military’s eastward expansion towards its borders and into its border, it opened the way to discussion, negotiations, and proposals for security guarantees. But, they were not taken seriously, according to many critics at the moment, which would cause a conflict that will be detrimental to ordinary Europeans. In this instance, Ukrainian civilians are suffering from human costs, and civilians, in general, are sinking into poverty.
Russia’s fear of being insecure against NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization seemed to be genuine, however, some critics claim that the coverage in the media has brushed aside Moscow’s initial concerns.
Opposition to NATO is a strong issue throughout Europe. Summits held by the military alliance are often met with protests against the war. In June protesters marched in the anti-NATO protests ahead of the summit which occurred in Madrid. The organizers of the rally said that the military alliance led by the United States is not the answer to the conflict in Ukraine. U.S. arms manufacturers have earned huge profits from the conflict.
In the month of March, around 75,000 people protested at the city of Prague to protest Prague’s Czech government, demanding the coalition in power to take action to curb the rising cost of energy and to express their opposition to NATO and the European Union and NATO.
Over the years over the years, the Kremlin has repeatedly stated that should NATO continue to increase the number of troops and arms along the Russian border, it will likely be met with significant resistance from the Russians even if it was accompanied by military intervention. This view wasn’t just restricted only to Russian officials. There are even some well-known American analysts of foreign policies are have backed the same scenario. The director of the CIA, William Burns, has been warning of the dangers and repercussions of NATO’s expansion into Russia for over 20 years.
However, Europe’s choice to bow to American pressure and impose unimaginable sanctions against Moscow has severely slowed down the gas supply to Europe and has increased the cost of energy which has left many living in the poverty. Europe depended on 40 percent of Russian gas prior to the war starting.
The energy shortage on the continent and the rising cost of fuel has been met by angry people who have slammed governments at the polls.
A recent survey conducted by Elabe revealed that the support for sanctions against Russia is declining across France. The study shows that just 40 percent of the French population support of the sanctions against Russia. The survey also shows that 32 percent of French people believe that the sanctions against Russia should be limited to reduce their impact on the lives of the French population.
The opposition French Patriots party again called for protests following the first protests that were held on the 3rd of September. Protesters want Macron to step down from his post and withdraw from both NATO as well as the European Union.
It is believed that the French government, along with other governments in Europe is implementing or contemplating various measures of emergency in anticipation of winter months, for example, the possibility of three hours of blackouts in power supply across the United Kingdom.
Since inflation is squeezing the economy, a group of French intellectuals including Nobel Literature Prize winners Annie Ernaux, have urged people to take part in the demonstrations which are being held by the left for the coming week. They have accused president Macron of not taking enough steps to assist the poor with the rising costs, while the profits of certain companies are increasing.
The 69-strong group including filmmakers, writers, and university instructors, wrote in a letter released in The Journal Du Dimanche that “Emmanuel Macron is using inflation to widen the wealth gap, to boost capital income at the expense of the rest.”
“It is all a matter of political will,” wrote the text, signed by Ernaux who, on Thursday was the very first French woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The statement also noted that the government hasn’t taken enough action to combat the rising costs of energy and has resisted increasing taxes on firms that earn huge profits due to the high inflation rate.
The signatories also have urged people to participate in the march of protest scheduled for the 16th of October and are being organized by the political group from the France Unbowed party which, this year, formed an alliance with moderate left-wing groups to form France’s most powerful opposition bloc.
The next protest on the horizon is described to be “against the high cost of living and climate inaction”. The protest coincides with the fact that Macron is facing stifling resistance from unions in relation to the pension reform he is planning and workers’ strikes seeking a pay raise from refineries to retail stores have caused disruption to parts of our economy.
More misery is awaiting the French government since a lot of locations for fuel services are struggling with issues of supply in the wake of strikes at refineries operated by the largest oil firm TotalEnergies along with ExxonMobil. The strike by CGT members the CGT, the national trade union center CGT mostly over pay has disrupted the operations at storage facilities and refineries. The industrial strike caused the authorities to draw down the reserves that are strategically important to the country.
Environmental Minister Christophe Bechu earlier told French media that the government will at present not be rationing fuel for drivers, or restricting the usage of service stations as a response to supply issues. “We haven’t reached this point yet,” Bechu stated when asked if the government will implement any national measures that go over and above the bans currently in place in certain regions regarding filling up large metal containers with flat sides to store or transport gasoline.
At the refineries, strikes by ExxonMobil as well as TotalEnergies are expected to continue for a while, union officials from both companies have stated. “It is continuing everywhere,” the CGT representative told the media, noting that there have been no communications from TotalEnergies following the call on Saturday from the union calling for the managers of the company to start discussions about pay.
In some regions in some areas, the proportion that is affected by the issue at some petrol stations is greater than the average national. A map that is interactive and created by the mon-essence.fr website mon-essence.fr where more than 100,000 customers have reported service interruptions over the past few days, shows the number of stations located in and close to Paris that was shut down. service.
In France, Long lines are being seen in front of fuel stations. “The waiting line will take you at least one-and-a-half hours or two” the driver Jean Galibert said as he began the last leg of a 700-meter tailback the front of a Paris servicing station. Another driver, Franck Chang, said, “This situation right behind me is indicative of the current situation in France. We’re struggling.”
The strikes have reduced France’s overall refinery output by more than 60%, which could be considered another setback for government officials. French government. This past Sunday TotalEnergies said it had proposed to push forward wage talks in the face of union demands since it is determined to stop the strike that has caused disruption to supplies to more than one-third of French petrol stations.
In the wake of warnings that shortages of energy and rising inflation will continue to continue in the coming winter more protests and anger against the economic policies of governments across Europe are expected to increase.
