96. France’s People’s Revolt on Pensions. Tricoleur Revolution?

04/14/23 • 45 min

Will mass protests in Paris overthrow President Macron? How did a rule change for pensioners imperil the French Fifth Republic?

Emmanuel Macron raised the minimum retirement age in France from 62 to 64. He wanted to control costs and make the French economy more competitive. But he did not have enough support in the French National Assembly to vote it into law. So he used a special constitutional power to make an emergency decree that by-passed lawmakers. This turned a campaign of opposition by unions and others into wild mass protests, with up to one million on the streets. Fires were lit. Police and protestors clashed violently. Is this a people’s revolt, or even a revolution for democracy? How does it compare to largely peaceful protests in America, Iran, Georgia, Israel, and across the world? Is this a Tricoleur Revolution?

In this episode, you will learn: - an overview of the French revolt on pensions reforms

why have changes to pension rules led to a political crisis in France

lessons from history on the revolutionary crowd and people power

reflections from Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, and Simon Schama, Citizens, on the links between protest, revolution and violence

Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com. #history #geopolitics #politics #Macron

Will mass protests in Paris overthrow President Macron? How did a rule change for pensioners imperil the French Fifth Republic?

In this episode, you will learn: - an overview of the French revolt on pensions reforms

why have changes to pension rules led to a political crisis in France

lessons from history on the revolutionary crowd and people power

reflections from Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, and Simon Schama, Citizens, on the links between protest, revolution and violence

Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com. #history #geopolitics #politics #Macron

Previous Episode

95. The End of the US Dollar Empire?

Countries around the world are ditching the US dollar, and reducing their reliance on $USD in trade and foreign exchange reserves. China, Russia, Brazil, India, ASEAN and African nations have all made major announcements that have shocked American elites. Could these decisions spell doom for the US dollar? Is its status as the world's No. 1 reserve currency under threat? Stay calm in the crisis, and, on this episode, discover :

how decisions in 2023 by BRICS and other nations to reduce reliance on the US dollar are different to previous crises for the dollar

some lessons of history (and John Maynard Keynes) related to global reserve currencies and how World Wars 1 and 2 set up US dollar primacy

a fragment from the Burning Archive, Keynes' rejected proposal for a multipolar currency system, that was rejected by the USA in 1944

Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com.

Next Episode

97. Macron, European Sovereignty, and Reflections on a Philosopher President

Is French President Macron serious about bringing justice to France and independence to Europe? And what is the surprising link between Macron, European philosophy and the Burning Archive?

On this episode I discuss:

President Emmanuel Macron's major speeches on reconciling social conflict, pension reforms, democracy and European independence or 'sovereign autonomy';

whether French-US relations since World War II and Macron's track record of speeches on European independence suggest France is serious about taking Europe on an independent path in the multipolar world; and

the surprising connection between Macron's philosophical master and the Burning Archive.

You can discover more details on these topics, and other glimpses of culture and history in the multipolar world, by subscribing to my free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel @theburningarchive.

And you can my latest book, From the Burning Archive via Amazon and other online retailers.

Thanks for listening. And remember 'What thou lovest well will not be reft from thee.' (Ezra Pound, Cantos LXXXI)