Paris Yellow Vest standoff with riot police evokes centuries-old French revolutionary spirit (VIDEO)
Amidst the chaos, which engulfed downtown Paris during the Yellow Vest rallies, a less dynamic scene..
Amidst the chaos, which engulfed downtown Paris during the Yellow Vest rallies, a less dynamic scene of a man kneeling with French flags captured the spirit of an intense standoff between the protesters and police.
At the backdrop of the iconic Arc de Triomphe police officers in full riot gear lined up not hesitant to use their rubber bullets and tear gas against the protesters.
Then something unexpected happened.
A protester emerged out of the smoke-filled area. Instead of hurling a bottle or firecracker, he quietly faced the officers and knelt, with his arms wide open.
Another protester soon stepped in behind him. Sporting the trademark yellow workers vest – the insignia of the protests that gripped France for a third week in a row – he, too, spread with two national blue-white-and-red flags, fluttering in the wind.
Intentionally or not, the poignant image evoked the innately French revolutionary symbolism, inherited from past upheavals. Like the world-famous painting by Eugene Delacroix, which depicts Marianne – the embodiment of liberty and one of the symbols of France – leading the people over the barricades.
The painting was completed shortly after the July Revolution of 1830. Unsurprisingly, the artworks name Liberty Leading the People became one of the mottos, circulating in the French social media during the current protests. The images of Marianne wielding a French flag appear mixed with the footage from the protests. Some of them show her dressed in a yellow vest.
#Applaus' #GiletsJaunes
La Liberté guidant le peuple se veut être une photographie d'une des 4000 barricades parisienne
Fin du mois de juillet 1830, Paris se soulève lors des journées du 27, 28 et 29……. " les trois glorieuses " pic.twitter.com/wma9bBxeJH— cool hummm…. (@coolhummm) November 24, 2018
The Yellow Vest protests erupted after President Emmanuel Macron introduced a controversial fuel tax. The anti-government rallies were spearheaded by the nations leading trade unions.
The demonstrations often descended into tense standoffs. Law enforcement used tear gas and water cannons during the clashes, while the protesters erected barricades and threw different projectiles towards the police.
More than a hundred people were arrested during Saturdays protests in Paris.
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