“There is an effective logic to violence”

Violence was advocated in the protest movement against pension reform. Does this surprise you?

Xavier Cretes This outbreak of violence was, unfortunately, to be expected. Using a well-defined operator: Emmanuel Macron and his government’s use of “49.3” [article de la Constitution qui permet de faire adopter un texte sans vote]. If the use of this tool has caused violence to return, it is, to me, for two reasons. First of all, for the opponents of reform there was an intolerable contradiction: how could the government make the argument – quite understandable in the Republic – about institutional legitimacy prevailing over street legitimacy, and at the same time dispense with the legitimacy of the most sovereign institution in the country, the Assembly national? This method used by the government sparked a lot of anger in the streets, which immediately led to scenes of violence that we witnessed.

Then there is the “instrumental” logic of violence. This becomes a tool for progress. I hear now, and this seems quite new to me, a discourse consisting, schematically, of saying: “Without violence, we will get nothing from a state that in no way listens to us.” In other words: violence pays off.

By putting 17 billion euros on the table to appease the country during the “yellow vest” crisis, Emmanuel