'Block Everything' protests sweep across France, scores arrested

French protest culture and legitimacy

• Commenters describe protest and civil disobedience as deeply rooted in French history and identity, with a cultural norm that people should disruptively resist unpopular policies.
• Some contrast this with the UK/US, where the state and parliament are seen as more legitimate and citizens more accepting.
• Others note costs: repeated strikes, vandalism, missed funerals, and city centers burned and still unrepaired.

Do protests “work” and is the French model better?

• Supporters argue protests helped secure strong worker protections, lower stress, and fewer visibly destitute people than in US cities.
• Skeptics ask whether frequent riots actually improve quality of life compared with places like the UK.
• There’s tension between admiration for French militancy and frustration that “everything” triggers protests: benefit cuts, tax hikes, retirement age, immigration.

Fiscal sustainability, pensions, and tax debates

• Many see France’s combination of low retirement age, very high social spending, and large debt as unsustainable, especially with an aging population and fewer workers per retiree.
• Others reply that high social spending is the goal, not the problem, and ask why adjustment must always mean cutting benefits rather than taxing the rich or corporations.
• Long subthread on tax structure: high top income tax, flat capital gains, strong inheritance taxes; proposals for wealth taxes (e.g., 2% above €100M) are argued by some to raise too little and trigger capital flight.
• Dispute over whether France is already “maxed out” on taxes (risking stagnation and emigration) versus still having room to increase high-end or capital taxes.

Political system, EU constraints, and default fears

• Several posts describe a fragmented National Assembly and a semi-presidential system that effectively requires a clear majority; current splintering makes durable coalitions and reforms nearly impossible.
• Comparisons to Greece, Italy, and Spain fuel worries that if France doesn’t adjust voluntarily, the ECB/IMF will impose harsher austerity after a crisis.
• Others counter that France’s political weight in the EU could, in theory, allow it to push for changes at the European level.

Wealth inequality, generations, and housing

• Many tie protests (in France and elsewhere) to extreme or rising wealth inequality and generational divides: Gen Z and young adults face high housing costs, precarious jobs, and asset inflation they missed.
• Some argue “wealth inequality” is a fuzzy slogan and that what matters is absolute living standards and market concentration, not billionaire counts per se.
• Others emphasize inequality as power: extreme fortunes inevitably distort policy, justice, and markets, even if the poor aren’t yet starving.
• Housing is a recurring flashpoint: stories of 10× home price gains versus stagnant wages, and parallel complaints about zoning, low rates → bubbles, and the painful transition to higher interest rates.

Global implications and looming instability

• Several expect a broader crash and more youth-led unrest in the US and elsewhere as inequality, housing costs, and job insecurity worsen.
• Advice threads emerge on personal resilience (deleveraging, diversification), but some argue there may be no true “safe harbor” if systemic corrections hit.