France NOT An Isolated Case: The World Exploding In Protests
By VT - Philippa Jane Winkler - July 4, 2023
Global Tracker shows millions are on the march against the rising cost of living
Everywhere, economies are tanking. All around the world, the masses are rising up. Below is a list of countries where major protests of 10,000 to a million kicked off in 2023, specifically against the escalating cost of living.
1. Algeria
2. Argentina 3. Armenia
4. Bangladesh
5. Belgium
6. Brazil
7. Columbia
8. Croatia
9. Czech Republic
10. France
11. Germany
12. Greece
13. Honduras
14. India
15. Iran
16. Kazakhstan
17. Lebanon
18. Pakistan
19. Portugal
20. Russia
21. Solomon Islands
22. South Africa
23. Spain
24. Sudan
25. Tunisia
26. United Kingdom
27. United States
28. Uruguay
29. Venezuela
Source: The Global Protest Tracker
Media censorship
Protests by the poor and disenfranchised rarely make the headlines. But when they do, as in France recently, mainstream media refers disparagingly to ‘riots’ ‘looting’ or if peaceful, ‘civil unrest’– in other words, anarchic and irrational mob behaviour.
Take the case of the June protests in France. The impression is conveyed that protestors are mostly disgruntled immigrants unfamiliar with civilised behaviour, or perhaps they are Muslim terrorists. This irresponsible implicit characterization is fuelling France’s xenophobic movement headed by Marine Le Pen.
The roots of the crisis go back to the 19th century The French elite incorporated its colonies in North Africa into the French state (unlike the British and Dutch empires.) Under French imperialism, indigenous populations in North Africa became French citizens. After World War 2, many were brought into France as cheap labour.
Today their descendants are French citizens trapped in high-rise suburbs, excluded, unemployed, targeted by police, and living in hopelessness. Poverty rates in these banlieues are often three times higher than the national average. Their only method of resistance is to take to the streets.
The media gives the impression the French ‘riots’ are an isolated case. On the contrary, 2023 has seen a worldwide resurgence of rage against the machine.
Who is to blame for increased immiseration?
Protesters against the rising cost of living blame governments and corporations. Elites blame the ‘greedy workers’ for inflation. They say that higher wages cause prices to spiral upwards, which results in decreased purchasing power, causing poverty levels to rise.
Following on from this assertion, a solution is to punish the poor even harder, by creating a recession. ‘When workers are a little less confident about their job, they won’t push for wage increases,’ counsels Karen Ward, chief market strategist at JP Moran Asset Management and advisor to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt of the UK.
Western elites blame inflation on the Russian war in Ukraine. But inflation has been escalating long before February 2021. An item that cost 100 pounds in 1960 costs 2,152.01 pounds at the beginning of 2023.
What causes inflation?
Both left and right on the political spectrum blame hoarded capital for inflated prices. Wealth lingering in tax shelters, or in luxury items such as art pieces, is called ‘unproductive capital.’ In 2023, the richest 50 families in the UK hold more wealth than half of the UK population, comprising 33.5 million people.
A Bank of England analyst notes, ‘Over time and across countries, higher productivity is reliably associated with higher wages, higher consumption levels and improved health indicators… Productivity growth is the key determinant of how much demand can grow without creating inflation.’ economists believe that unproductive capital is the outcome of a society based on the profit motive.
They say the capitalist system is ‘an inherently anarchic system, in which our lives and futures are left in the invisible hands of the market; where society’s abundant resources are squandered for the sake of the bosses’ profits, instead of being utilised rationally to meet the needs of people and the planet.’
Protests that win in the end
In 2023, there have been protests worldwide against economic injustice, political corruption, police brutality and armed conflicts, for women’s rights and against gender violence. Climate change and the war in Ukraine do not figure as major concerns, according to the Global Protest Tracker. The cost-of-living crisis is uppermost on people’s minds.
There have been street protests for self-determination and human rights, such as solidarity for people living in the occupied Palestine territories.
Governments tend to cherry-pick which of these movements to back.
Popular among Western governments are the ‘colour’ revolutions such as in Ukraine in 2014 aimed at de-linking from Russia and expanding the European Union and NATO.
Unpopular among Western elites are protests for economic and social justice taking place in their own countries. Instead, state money is poured into weapons spending and laws are being enacted to restrict free speech, strikes and marches.
History is not on the side of the unjust. Civil protest is an engine of reform. Masses of people taking to the streets is why slavery isn’t legal, segregation is outlawed, women have the vote, gays can marry, colonies gain their independence, the United Kingdom cancelled the Poll Tax, Macron in France cancelled a fuel tax…the list goes on.
More details
[i] Global Protest Tracker – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
[ii] Bank of England must ‘create recession’ to fight high inflation, Hunt advisor says, as mortgage rates rise again – as it happened | Business | The Guardian
[iii] Inflation rates in the United Kingdom (worlddata.info)
[iv] The Scale of Economic Inequality in the UK | The Equality Trust
[v] The fall in productivity growth: causes and implications (bankofengland.co.uk)
[vi] Marxism, money, and inflation | Economic theory | History & Theory (marxist.com) and . David-Harvie-All-Labour-is-Productive-and-Unproductive.pdf (thecommoner.org)
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FRANCE NOT AN ISOLATED CASE: THE WORLD IS EXPLODING IN PROTESTS (substack.com)
Philippa Jane Winkler
Philippa is a professor of International Relations, with a PhD from the University of Bristol and a BA from the London School of Economics and Political Science. But not just an academic, Philippa is an international activist and music artist as well, having engaged at the United Nations and with governments. She draws from both left and right critical perspectives.
