Public opinion on the 'yellow vests' movement in France 2018-2019
The Yellow vests movement (called "Gilets jaunes" in French) is a protest movement which began with a petition posted on the social networks regarding rising fuel prices. Their first action took place on Saturday, 17 November 2018, with "yellow vests" blocking roads and creating traffic jams across the country. Since then the movement has shown great motivation and the dispute is now expanding to other issues regarding the purchasing power of the middle class, frustration with the high cost of living and the perception that the French government was passing a important amount of the austerity bill and ecology bill on the working and middle classes. The protests, which occurred since mid-November every Saturday, had raised tensions and turned violent especially in Paris.
Most protesters are living in rural and peri-urbans areas. They are impacted by the rise of Diesel prices which have increased by 16 percent in 2018. The movement is not related to any political party or trade union but is supported by French public opinion.