Althouse: "Chaos erupted on the streets of Paris as a May Day workers' march saw riots break-out in protest against Marine Le Pen.."

May 1, 2017

"Chaos erupted on the streets of Paris as a May Day workers' march saw riots break-out in protest against Marine Le Pen.."

The Mirror reports.

I can't believe this sort of thing doesn't help Le Pen. That's a problem with protests. If they get out of hand, they help the other side.

44 comments:

DrMaturin said...: Watch for Macron supporters to claim the riot was a false flag operation by Le Pen.; 5/1/17, 11:37 AM
Michael K said...: Trump Derangement Syndrome in Paris. I wonder if Soros is out there spreading "walking around money ?"; 5/1/17, 11:39 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Didn't May 1 (May Day) celebrations start as some Soviet-Communist stratagem to continue imposing their misery on the rest of us?; 5/1/17, 11:42 AM
Gahrie said...: May day was originally a festival to welcome the spring.

The Commies co-opted it in the 19th century.; 5/1/17, 11:45 AM
mockturtle said...: Seattle always honors May Day with anarchist protests.; 5/1/17, 11:51 AM
sparrow said...: Trump won, in part, because the US left has abdononed the working class creating an opportunity. If the left in France has held the working class close, burying their elite contempt, then Le Pen would not be able to draw them to her. I simply don't know enough about French politics to assess this properly, but that may explain the disparity, FWIW.; 5/1/17, 11:51 AM
Fernandinande said...: Gahrie said...
May day was originally a festival to welcome the spring.
The Commies co-opted it in the 19th century.

Some victims of communism are trying to make it "Victims of Communism Day".; 5/1/17, 11:56 AM
MaxedOutMama said...: The German press has pictures of French policemen on fire. Horrifying. Yes, it helps Le Pen.; 5/1/17, 11:57 AM
cubanbob said...: I can't believe this sort of thing doesn't help Le Pen. That's a problem with protests. If they get out of hand, they help the other side. "

True to a point. First I don't think these communists think that (for the most part). Second some of them I believe think that these intimidation tactics will cause voters to think that if Le Pen wins these sort of actions will be a near daily event and the aggravation the public will endure is enough reason not to vote Le Pen. In other words, get the Paris vote so overwhelming against Le Pen as to swamp the countryside vote for Le Pen.; 5/1/17, 11:59 AM
wwww said...: How big is this? I've got 2 friends visiting Paris & they've been posting pictures & video clips for the last couple of hours. Not getting the impression they've seen anything like a riot.; 5/1/17, 12:02 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/1/17, 12:05 PM
Etienne said...: The Party of Law and Order

In your face fuck-stick...; 5/1/17, 12:06 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Ilya Somin posts "Victims of Communism Day" every year on 5/1, and every year the usual suspects among his commenters protest. Part of the rhythm of Spring, I think.; 5/1/17, 12:12 PM
Francisco D said...: Ann wrote: " I can't believe this sort of thing doesn't help Le Pen. That's a problem with protests. If they get out of hand, they help the other side. "

That makes perfect sense, but we are talking about the French. They take great pride in being different than the rest of The West. Sometimes the differences are charming. Sometimes the differences belie their national arrogance.

Arrogance isn't always bad, if you are truly far superior to others, say in cooking.

I love Paris. The French people have been very nice to me.; 5/1/17, 12:16 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Can someone please explain to me how Marine Le Pen got "far-right" epoxied to her name? She's against unrestricted (mostly Muslim) immigration, and she wants out of the EU, though this morning it was reported on NPR that she's willing to stick with the euro. Neither stance strikes anyone in this country as "far-right." Nor is she or her party anti-Semitic. I know who is most likely to beat up, gang-rape, and murder Jews in France, and it isn't Le Pen supporters.; 5/1/17, 12:20 PM
Drago said...: Please give the left another chance. They really really really promise to murder no more than 60 Million next time!; 5/1/17, 12:26 PM
fivewheels said...: "Chaos erupted," and "riots broke out."

Thank goodness there were no humans involved. No faction of people who were showing their true colors. Just "chaos" and "riots" doing what they do, somehow.; 5/1/17, 12:28 PM
Sigivald said...: wwww said:

Well, Paris proper is 41 square miles, and the metro area is 6,631 square miles.

It's easy to not see even a huge march with a bit of riot attached.; 5/1/17, 12:30 PM
Drago said...: fivewheels: "Thank goodness there were no humans involved. No faction of people who were showing their true colors. Just "chaos" and "riots" doing what they do, somehow"

Indeed.

Similar to trucks and large lorries simply driving themselves into crowds without any humans of any particular religious bent being involved. At all.; 5/1/17, 12:32 PM
n.n said...: Every year, leftists bring out ghosts of leftists' past, to shame and deflect from leftists present. It happened here when leftists dragged dead Soviets out of the closet and through the streets with hope to disenfranchise Americans. It's a proud and, apparently, progressive tradition.; 5/1/17, 12:32 PM
Sebastian said...: "Can someone please explain to me how Marine Le Pen got "far-right" epoxied to her name?" Mostly rhetorical question, I realize, but she denies prog gospel (EU with Muzzies etc.), she is a nationalist, and she is dangerous (anti-globalization, pro-worker protectionist)--therefore, the worst, must be cordoned off as "far-right."; 5/1/17, 12:35 PM
Etienne said...: What most Americans don't know, or care, is that when Marine was 8 years old, living in Paris, people tried to blow up her family with 20 kilo's of explosives.

What you have to know, is that she has no desire to sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya; she is not interested in an integrated (no passport, open border) Europe.

Extrapolate from that.; 5/1/17, 12:41 PM
Rick said...: Mr Macron meanwhile taunted his far-right rivals by visiting the spot where her FN supporters murdered a Moroccan immigrant. Mr Macron paid a moving tribute at the Carousel Bridge, in central Paris, where Brahim Bouarram was killed by neo-Nazis attached to the party exactly 22 years ago today.

One guy in 22 years huh? I see her in the near future having rallies from Nice, the Bataclan, and the Charlie Hebdo offices. Death toll 233 in a little over two years.

Do you suppose the Mirror will approvingly refer to that as "taunting"?; 5/1/17, 12:42 PM
Matt Sablan said...: That chaos. Always erupting as of late.; 5/1/17, 12:44 PM
campy said...: Can someone please explain to me how Marine Le Pen got "far-right" epoxied to her name?

Everyone not far-left is called far-right.; 5/1/17, 12:47 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: "Thousands of us have come out on the street to stand up for justice and decency, and to show our shame at these fascists hoping to take over,

Says the people throwing fire bombs, destroying property, maiming and probably killing people.

Yep. Really decent and intellectually persuasive too.

/facepalm; 5/1/17, 1:01 PM
mockturtle said...: Thank goodness there were no humans involved. No faction of people who were showing their true colors. Just "chaos" and "riots" doing what they do, somehow.

Yep. Kinda like 'mistakes were made'.; 5/1/17, 1:04 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: Don't you see? They could wait until next May Day if she was going to win, but if she's going to lose they have to hold the protest now.; 5/1/17, 1:15 PM
walter said...: "As Nicole smoke police took part in running battles with riot police, who used tear gas and baton charges to try and restrain the crowds."
???

Were any doing the fry 'em like bacon chant en Francais?
Les cochons dans une couverture, les frire comme du bacon!
Europe just keeps teaching us about civility.; 5/1/17, 1:18 PM
Michael said...: campy

Correct, except that there is no "far left" There are progressives, liberals, far rights, and alt-rights with the latter three individually and collectively "fascists"; 5/1/17, 1:24 PM
Michael said...: latter two; 5/1/17, 1:29 PM
gspencer said...: I didn't realize that Marine had this many campaign workers.

Good optics for her.; 5/1/17, 1:30 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: To be fair, someone on NPR called Melanchon "far-left" this morning. So there's that.

But even assuming that the 60-40 vote split is accurate (and I would assume nothing, given how the polls worked on Brexit and Trump -- or rather, I'd assume that large numbers of people are hiding their Le Pen sympathies, and that the vote will be much closer than that), that means that 23 million French are willing to vote for a "far-right" party. This isn't Vichy, people; it's mostly the French wanting France to remain French. AKA "nationalism."

When did "nationalist" become a dirty word, anyway? Apart from John Lennon, don't we like nations? Isn't there something about a particular land, a particular style of architecture or dress or food, a particular vista belonging to you, and also you to it, that makes it special? Don't we see this, in attenuated form, even in the US? I am a passionate nationalist. I want my nations as small and as distinct as possible. What I don't want is one great big dirty blob called the European Union obliterating everything particular about them and substituting one dull rule emanating from Brussels. Jokes about the curvature of bananas aside, the EU really does micromanage and flatten out everything.

As for immigration: I repeat that once you hit the tipping point, France is no longer particularly French. The banlieus aren't, and Jews who live near them already know not to wear yarmulkes outside, lest they be assaulted. But, hey, that's just the new normal, innit?; 5/1/17, 2:00 PM
Birkel said...: Chaos is the actor. The people were innocent bystanders.; 5/1/17, 4:33 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: "Nationalist" is right down the street from "Racist." Anyway, it's just not cool to express too much like of your own country and culture. American elites disdain America, probably more than French elites disdain their own country. A European one said to me "nobody hates their own country the way Americans do." He wasn't talking about Les Deplorables.; 5/1/17, 4:37 PM
cacimbo said...: These are terrorists and should be labeled as such, labeling them protestors or rioters downplays their actions.They are throwing fire bombs at police, several of the officers are completely engulfed in flame - at least one was severely injured.; 5/1/17, 4:40 PM
Dude1394 said...: It is so hard to tell the real fascists without a scorecard. They are yelling no fascists all the while rioting, burning and using political violence like fascists. So confusing.; 5/1/17, 5:17 PM
William said...: I dont think anything good will come of this election..... Down with the proletariat. Vivre les post grad students or whoever these rioters are......I don't follow French politics and have no wish to do so. They both sound like loads. I suppose someone will have to win, but they're both unappealing. Bourbons and Bonapartes.; 5/1/17, 6:09 PM
Gospace said...: To coin a phrase (not): Do you want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump.

Right wing in Europe, anywhere in Europe, doesn't correspond to right wing in the USA. Socialism of some kind is built in to all their political parties. Nationalistsare their right wing, attached to some kind of socialism.; 5/1/17, 7:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Michelle Dulak Thomson: When did "nationalist" become a dirty word, anyway? Apart from John Lennon, don't we like nations? Isn't there something about a particular land, a particular style of architecture or dress or food, a particular vista belonging to you, and also you to it, that makes it special? Don't we see this, in attenuated form, even in the US? I am a passionate nationalist. I want my nations as small and as distinct as possible.

Yes, normal human beings want, as you so nicely put it, to belong to a place and for that place to belong to them. The animus against "nationalism" (aside from the good old economic self-interest of the people who benefit the most from "no borders") is based on the same sort of naïve and shallow reasoning that leads some people to believe that "gee, since people kill each other over religion, if we could just get rid of religion, everything would be cool and everyone would get along".

Likewise, since "nationalism" can manifest in Nazi-ism and other bad things, obviously "nationalism" is a Bad Thing and if we could just get rid of it everything would be cool and we'd all just get along. (Like that profound philosopher John Lennon said.) It escapes them utterly that both religion and nationalism (or other forms of "tribal" identity) are fundamental features of human life, answer to human necessities, are both constructive and destructive, and aren't going anywhere, no matter how frantically these holy-rolling bastards keep trying to re-package the New Soviet Man.

Somehow these doofuses never seem to notice that the one-worlder utopianism (or empire-building, or super-stating) that they think is the solution to everything can also lead to massive destruction and death, just like religion and tribalism do.

Any political organization we can come up with will have both upsides and downsides, both positive and destructive potential. Why, it's almost as if there's a common factor underlying the murderous behavior of human beings. Hmmm, what is it? Religion! Yeah that's it! Um, no, it's nationalism! Hey, I know! Maybe if you just get rid of the human beings you can finally immanentize that eschaton, dudes!"; 5/1/17, 8:03 PM
Mick said...: Le Pen will win. The right people hate her. Do you doubt me?; 5/1/17, 8:21 PM
Drago said...: Mick: "Le Pen will win. The right people hate her. Do you doubt me?"

Yes, as all the real fighters in France were killed several generations back. Only the Vichy types are around now.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love for the spirit of Charles the Hammer to reappear. I just don't believe it's in the French DNA any longer. The next surrender, to the muslims, in a generation or two will simply be the latest in a long string of surrenders.

I wonder if we will have developed the necessary defense capabilities to handle muslim-ruled nuclear-armed european nations? It we get back on the obambi-lefty track then the answer will obviously be "no".; 5/1/17, 10:00 PM
mockturtle said...: Le Pen will win. The right people hate her. Do you doubt me?

Well, you were right about Trump, Mick. And well ahead of November, too.; 5/1/17, 10:28 PM
MPH said...: The extremes only help each other at everyone else's expense. Which is why the Kremlin supports extremists of all stripes left and right in the west. Divide and conquer.; 5/1/17, 11:34 PM