Ah, the romantic ambiance that makes France famous:
If you haven't been following the news, the Frenchies are angry because their government raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.
So they're burning everything to the ground.
According to the mayor of Paris, there were 903 fires recorded in the city last night alone.
Many of the fires are piles of trash that has stacked up because the sanitary workers have gone on strike.
But wouldn't ya know, when you light things on fire in narrow European streets, the embers have a tendency of setting buildings on fire, which happened in this case:
But goodness, look at all the trash!
Someone needs to get over there quick to film an apocalypse movie: You'd save a ton of money on set designs!
There are so. many. fires.
Meanwhile, the police are getting more and more frustrated, leading to scenes like these:
[Warning: Violence]
There are a few clips going around that supposedly show police joining the rioters, but many on-the-ground reporters are refusing this, saying that the police are merely escorting groups from areas they have managed to lock down in an attempt to contain the rioting.
(Pro tip: Don't believe everything you hear)
A lot of people are out there today saying that this is a French uprising against the globalists, but my dudes, these ain't the Dutch farmers.
Understanding nuance is important. France is a socialist-adjacent nation with massive tax rates and huge government welfare programs. Its citizens largely demand to be taken care of from cradle to grave by said welfare programs, and since they have given up much of their money and freedom for the privilege, they are now enraged at the thought of slaving away for two more years before collecting a pension.
But this doesn't mean that the French citizens are angry with the welfare state as a whole. This isn't some based redpill uprising calling for limited government and Natural Rights based on the Moral Law. They aren't writing a Declaration of Independence expositing the arguments of Milton and Locke.
They're doing what the French have done for centuries: Starting a violent revolution to overthrow their government in the belief that the next revolution will bring about a better one. It is no coincidence that the class warfare and perpetual uprising of the French Revolution deeply influenced Karl Marx.
Speaking of the commies...
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 149 police officers were injured and 172 people were arrested across the country. Dozens of protesters were also injured, including a woman who lost a thumb in the Normandy town of Rouen.
"There are thugs, often from the far-left, who want to bring down the state and kill police officers," Darmanin said after visiting Paris police headquarters on Thursday night.
Small groups continued to clash with police in Paris late into the night, lighting fires throughout the city centre and playing cat-and-mouse with security forces.
Wait, you're telling me that the Christian trad wives aren't the ones burning down civilization?
But I have been reliably informed that the "alt-right" poses the greatest threat to all of human society than anything else in existence, what with its insistence on protecting babies (and having babies).
Hopefully, if the depravity of the French Revolution doesn't repeat itself, France will at least get new leaders that aren't so dang woke.
The French Interior Ministry said 1.089 million protested across the country, including 119,000 in the capital which was a record since protests started in January. The CGT union said 3.5 million people marched in the country, equalling a previous high on March 7.
Meanwhile, everyone from electric companies to airline workers are striking in an effort to put more pressure on the government.
You might think it would be easy for President Macron to simply say "my bad" and change the retirement back to age 62.
But here's the thing: Like most Western nations that have spent decades navel gazing on climate change and "equity" while blowing out their budgets, France is in serious debt.
The nation now owes more than $3.3 trillion USD with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 115% – a sharp increase in recent years. As it turns out, socialism is expensive, and when the money runs out (and it always runs out), cuts have to be made.
