Red has been overshadowed; yellow now dominates the color spectrum.

France in Revolt: The "Block Everything!" Movement

France is once again gripped by a wave of public unrest, as a diverse and growing movement, known as "Block everything!", threatens to paralyze the nation on September 10th. The trigger for this revival was Prime Minister François Bayrou's announcement to freeze pensions, cut public holidays, and reduce jobs in the public service to close budget gaps.

This movement, which is horizontal in nature, has been fueled by a general sense of discontent, particularly due to the coronavirus pandemic and the perceived senseless hierarchies and over-centralization that have long been criticized. Michel Crozier, a French sociologist, highlighted these issues in his 1970 bestseller "The Blocked Society", where he denounced remnants of the Ancien Régime, statist bureaucracy, and over-centralization.

The leader of this movement is Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the outspoken head of La France Insoumise (LFI) and a prominent left-wing politician. Mélenchon has been calling for a "general strike", a demand that is expected given his left-authoritarian stance. However, the movement lacks the political ability that older social movements had, gathering an individualized and disoriented mass of dissatisfied people, a sign of self-destructive nihilism.

The current dissatisfaction in France is also fueled by a "sovereignist" aversion towards the European Union, multilateral politics, and sometimes Germany. The National Rally is benefiting from this uprising without needing to claim it, as it is fueling Le Pen's mills.

Interestingly, two-thirds of French people support the blockade movement, according to polls. Despite this support, the society wants to cut social benefits for the bottom 10% and immigrants but doesn't want to touch the wealth and inheritances of the top 1%. This dichotomy highlights the complexities of the current political landscape in France.

The Greens and unions have joined Mélenchon's maneuver opportunistically, but have nothing to counter far-right radical infiltration. This raises concerns about the direction the movement might take and the potential consequences for French society.

It is important to note that France's history is marked by various general strikes and mass demonstrations. The current revival resembles the 2019 Yellow Vests march, a period of intense social and political turmoil.

The Fifth Republic of General de Gaulle broke with many old traditions of its predecessors, transitioning France from an agricultural society to an industrial and service society in the 1950s. However, the issues that Crozier highlighted in his book, such as ungovernability and senseless hierarchies, seem to persist, contributing to the current unrest.

In a paradoxical twist, French women were having children at an above-average rate after a century of demographic stagnation, yet the society seems to be struggling to provide for its growing population. The society of "business as usual" in France wants to universally lower the retirement age but doesn't want to think about more satisfying work, especially for craftsmen and farmers.

Political disillusionment, dissatisfaction with elites, and populist troublemaking are consequences of these crises. Claus Leggewie and Daniel Cohn-Bendit have been advocating for a rational and humane migration and refugee policy for decades, a proposal that seems increasingly relevant in the current context.

Only time will tell how this situation unfolds, but one thing is certain: France is facing a significant political and social upheaval, and the future of the Fifth Republic hangs in the balance.