Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Green globalist President Macron has deployed non specialist police armed with semi-automatic weapons with large magazines to try to intimidate yellow vest carbon tax protestors.
French riot police are now using semi-automatic weapons with live ammunition against Yellow Vest protestors as Macron’s law and order crisis spirals
- Officers were filmed brandishing weapons by Arc de Triomphe in Paris today
- Riot police were on crowd control duty today facing off a mob of Gilet Jaunes
- Rifles at demonstration by unarmed citizens show how Macron crisis intensifies
- Last week former conservative minster said live fire should be used on ‘thugs’
By SOPHIE LAW FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:12 AEDT, 14 January 2019 | UPDATED: 10:39 AEDT, 14 January 2019French riot police have deployed semi-automatic weapons with live ammunition against Yellow Vest protestors for the first time.
Officers were filmed brandishing Heckler & Koch G36 weapons by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Saturday afternoon.
The presence of semi-automatic rifles at a demonstration by unarmed French citizens shows how President Emmanuel Macron’s law and order crisis spirals.
It comes after former conservative minister Luc Ferry called for live fire to be used against the ‘thugs’ from the Yellow Vest movement who he says ‘beat up police’.
…
Live ammunition 30 cartridge magazines could be seen as officers marched the streets, although none were used as 5000 police were deployed on the streets of the French capital.
Yellow Vest protestor Gilles Caron said: ‘The CRS with the guns were wearing riot control helmets and body armour – they were not a specialised firearms unit.
‘Their job was simply to threaten us with lethal weapons in a manner which is very troubling. We deserve some explanations.’
…
Read more (includes pictures of armed French police): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6586991/French-riot-police-using-semi-automatic-weapons-against-Yellow-Vest-protestors.html
The Yellow Vest protests erupted in response to President Macron’s efforts to raise fuel taxes, to try to discourage fossil fuel use. The regressive carbon tax triggered a furious response from the French people, especially workers from poor rural communities who utterly depend on fossil fuel for their livelihoods. The protests are continuing because of President Macron’s clumsy failure to reassure the protestors that he wants to address their concerns.
“Shocking video shows fireman Yellow Vest protestor shot in the back of the head by French police, leaving him with serious brain injuries, as protests against Macron continue”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6593807/Shocking-video-shows-fireman-Yellow-Vest-protestor-shot-head-French-police.html
In this mornings News the fireman was in an induced coma.
Also on the News was an item suggesting that he was about to reinstate the 90kph speed limit on all but the most dangerous sections of road. One of the actions which angered rural France.
The biggest problem in the U.S. or North America is knowledge of what exactly is going on at any one time anywhere. The MSM spins everything such that there is a deliberate veil of ignorance (not stupidity, just lack of knowledge) over real events. I say that because within France there are elements, which just like the AntiFa in the U.S., look for an opportunity to riot and cause destruction. The adopt the uniform of the day and let go. And like AntiFa, they are the enemy of the rest of the normal law abiding individuals trying to make a statement to the Government.
Governments want peace, they want quiet, they’ll go to great lengths to get it. Collectivist Governments will kill as many as they think it takes to get it. The long existing anarchist groups in Europe use any protest as a lever to try for bloodshed of the average citizen. It’s a very effective political destabilizing tool and has worked again and again.
I feel for those poor souls living in those Collectivist States in Europe. For generations they’ve been brainwashed into believing that someone, the State, the Church, or the Society owns them. Every time they get a nose full and try to change things, the Elites who attend the same exclusive schools, who attend the same exclusive universities, who attend the same international law/control conferences/ who attend the same international financial conferences, those Elites turn around and slap the bourgeois back into place.
The reason that the U.S. revolution was so successful for so long was the original idea which wasn’t fully grasped by most people in the U.S. either – Jefferson got close, but not totally correct – the idea that all rights are property rights starting with self-ownership. You own you, and by extension, all that you labor to create, all that you properly possess. That is a reflexive action, proper possession, implies that you have either created the property, or you have exchanged your creation(s) for that which you wished to possess from another who properly possessed the item you desired. Since self-ownership is an inalienable right, no one may properly possess another. That was where Jefferson fell down. He should have freed all of his slaves immediately and he knew it. Sad.
No other nation on the planet was founded by men who even remotely understood what the founding fathers of the United States attempted to do. Go read some Thomas Paine now. He was a threat to the Government then, his thoughts are a threat to overreaching Government now.
Is it time for the U.S. to come to the aid of the French people again?
Yes ! Don’t forget, if United States exists, it’s because of La Fayette, Rochambeau and D’Estaing, when french army came to help the Insurgents !
French “gilets jaunes” are peaceful, only some a few violent protestors were in the firsts demonstrations. The have disappeared. French police received orders to be violent : 1 dead and 78 hardly injuried by police and 0 policeman…
It’s much more violent than in May 1968. Macron’s government is deeply frightened by the popular reaction to his ruinous anti-carbon policy and his submission to the antidemocratic policy of the EU. On tuesday a new french-german treaty will be signed which it’s the end of french independence for the profit of Germany.
We want leaving the EU, the euro money and NATO ! Macron is the farmhand of Merkel !
Mnn ami,
Lisez s’il vous plaît
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/01/16/french-president-deploying-police-armed-with-high-capacity-live-ammunition-weapons-to-intimidate-carbon-tax-protestors/#comment-2594653
Hi Matt – good to hear from you.
Best, Allan
Vive les Giletes Jaunes!
https://youtu.be/47E2tfK5QAg
Vive les Giletes Jaunes!
Encore un fois! Vive les Miserables!
I think it was a rubber bullet that hit that guy. Despite being made of rubber, these weapons can do great harm. Many protesters have lost eyes during the protests.
“It comes after former conservative minister Luc Ferry called for live fire to be used against the ‘thugs’ from the Yellow Vest movement who he says ‘beat up police’.”
Monsieur Ferry – maintenant, qui est le “voyou”? {Who is the “thug” now? }
looks like it is time for a real civil war in france.
This sounds like it was written by somebody that either knows nothing about firearms or is trying to inflame passions… maybe both?
How so?
Announcements that live ammunition would be issued widely and weapons are clearly being brandished is now a tactical approach being used by the Macron government. The reporting appears to represent what is happening there.
Yeah. I agree. what sign is there that SMC is right?
Well if the articles author knew firearms then they would have referred to the weapons as G36C, which is actually their correct title. They are also using the term ‘semi automatic weapons’ incorrectly – G36C is capable of fully automatic fire – which suggests they heard the term in relation to gun control (where evil semi automatic weapons do evil semi automatic weapon things) and fail to understand just how common semi automatic actions are.
(spoiler kids – if your local police are armed and do not carry revolvers, they are very VERY likely to be carrying a semi automatic.)
Another clue is the importance placed on the 30 round magazines. 30 round magazines are extremely common. Gun control types would like to suggest that this is some sort of abnormal high capacity brought in especially but they are pretty standard.
So we have an author who seems to be overemphasising buzz words for effect without really understanding what the words mean. It comes across as clumsy.
As an example – A bus load of police arrived. Or… A 19 seat diesel engined bus filled with police sitting on the interior seats arrived and everyone got out via the door. Both sentences basically say the same thing, but one is filled with extra details without adding to the story.
So, now that we have established that SMC is absolutely correct, what is the real take away from this report?
French police have escalated. This could be either to react to a new perceived threat (deliberate violence against police) or an attempt to regain superiority over the crowd by force projection or simply because European police often carry military style weapons in public.
Personally I feel this is probably a bad thing. I have no wish to see violence against police for police are employees of the state, not the rulers, but I also have no wish to see violence against the Yellows.
It’s… a development, and one I hope turns out to be minor.
More than likely it will turn out to be a flash point.
“Craig from Oz January 16, 2019 at 3:33 pm
…or simply because European police often carry military style weapons in public.”
Having lived in Belgium in the 80’s I can say this was true then, probably more so now.
Semi-automatic simply means the weapon itself handles ejecting the spent round and inserting a fresh one into the chamber, but the trigger must still be pulled for each round fired. Rate of fire will vary based on the hand strength and training of the shooter, and the trigger weight setting on the weapon.
A fully automatic weapon will continue to cycle and fire rounds as long as the trigger is held back. Rate of fire will vary based on the efficiency of the weapon’s mechanism. Most full-autos also have a semi-auto mode.
Perhaps the title? “Use” if I use a firearm that means a bullet has come out the business end. No evidence presented for the “use” of live rounds. A policeman simply carrying a rifle is not using it on protesters.
I say that because of sentences like…
“Live ammunition 30 cartridge magazines could be seen as officers marched the streets, …”
There is no difference between a magazine with 30 blank cartridges and a magazine with live ammo.
It’s the same kind of language the gun control nutcases use in the USA… of course, I could just be triggered, maybe I’m a different kind of snowflake… how many words for snow do the eskimos have?
Regardless, I don’t doubt there were police out and about with weapons but I am questioning how the article was written.
Article was most likely run through a translation program to be released to non-french speaking outlets. Also most likely written by someone who knows next to nothing about firearms.
Fair point, but apparently it was announced that live ammunition was being issued. The situation does appear to be escalating on the part of the Macron regime.
I find it a little ridiculous that police are routinely carrying weapons (for show) without ammunition but that is another issue.
A weapon with out ammo is just an unwieldy club… I’d rather have a baseball bat in that case.
I’m sure they had ammo available to them. Whether the weapons were locked and loaded… no way to tell until the shooting starts.
The CRS are (or have traditionally been) not armed with lethal weapons. The last thing any sensible government wants is to start a shooting match.
The CRS are intimidating/effective enough without firearms. Arming them is a sign of panic by Macron. If the guns are used, it will turn very ugly, very fast.
There’s a difference between less-than-lethal ammo and live ammo.
I think the point was that now they have lethal ammo LOADED.
I believe the point is that there is no way to know just by looking at the gun from a distance, what kind of ammo they are loaded with.
As far as I know, the police was never carrying weapons without ammunition.
The military people were several years ago.
When you refer to “live ammo” you are NOT referring to “blanks” – why would the police load a 30 round magazine clip with blanks? If the police fired “blanks” it would be apparent what they were and that would simply inflame the crowds into rushing the police. A blank is worse than no round at all.
He’s not claiming that “live ammo” is “blanks”(go on reread his post and see for yourself) he was pointing out that, *in the magazine*, you can not tell the difference. Of course you can tell the difference once they are fired but that wasn’t the question he was answering. Perhaps if you could have worked in a reference to MSRs, you wouldn’t have made such a fundamental mistake of comprehension.
I knew right away this WASN’T written by a typical Leftist American news writer. They would have called it an Assault Rifle or Assault Weapon.
Then again, maybe they are only Assault Weapons when they AREN’T in the hands of a Socialist government’s troops.
That would be because a Heckler & Koch G36 is actually an assault weapon.
French police all carry firearms. The CRS are a special unit used mostly for riot control. Started during the ’68 riots I believe
The CRS were less violent in May 68 ! I saw them in action !
communists are always so compassionate.
SMC, are you claiming the report is incorrect that live ammunition and weapons have been issued? That they are not trying to intimidate the yellow vests with such a show of weaponry? please exactly quote what you think is wrong in the article and provide links to the “truth” that proves it wrong.
SMC already explained that, see his reply at 7:16 am. The language in the article has the tone as if written by someone not familiar with firearms, if not an outright anti-gunner. The French situation would be much more intimidating & dangerous had Marcon’s legal henchmen employed automatic weapons against their citizens, rather than semi-automatic. Very, very few police forces throughout the world employ anything but semi-automatic weapons, long guns and handguns. And thirty round magazines are pretty standard for semi-automatic rifles used by larger police forces.
7:16 am is 23 minutes *after* my post at 6:53 am. How could I possibly see a post that hadn’t been written yet at the time I made my post?????
G36 is capable of full auto fire. It’s an assault rifle, used by the Bundeswehr and other armed forces.
No police officer would carry a weapon loaded with blanks. Only if he/she were a fool. Rubber bullets are not non-lethal. They may not cause as much damage as real bullets but can be just as lethal. Especially when shot in the head. So your point is actually moot.
The guns in question will not fire blanks without a blank adapter anyway.
sure it will fire a blank without an adapter. Just as a single shot and then the action will have to be cycled by hand to eject the used blank and reload another. A blank adaptor merely forces the gas from fired blank to cycle the action instead of allowing it to go out the end of the barrel.
Anyway, the article in question makes it seem that France is moving towards it’s Boston Massacre moment. Meanwhile across the channel the British Parliament goes on with it’s long running Kabuki Theater, with the elites trying to pretend they are doing what they can to implement BREXIT when in reality they intend to do just the opposite and keep the UK in the EU.
The bottom line theme in both France and the UK is the will of the people be damned!
Typically for crowd control and civil unrest situations, rubber bullets are used.
As for them being semiautomatic…well, yeah…not to many cops using revolvers these days.
But in the US most semiauto cop weapons are pistols, not rifles.
Oh, local police depts love them some AR!!!! Uncle Sugar has been quite generous over the years making them sweet deals on surplus rifles, which are easy to update with off the shelf tactitoys.
True. More and more cop shops carry ARs in their patrol cars.
And ex-GI armored vehicles.
Clinton started giving them full auto M16s.
Some departments neutered them to work like an AR15. Some did not.
And Obama gave school police departments M14s and M16s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1033_program#1990%E2%80%932014
But why not, after previously having armed the Zeta cartel and other Mexican drug gangs?
A late buddy of mine used to joke about the Library of Congress SWAT team, but exaggerated humor is starting to coincide with reality.
Can you tell, just by looking at a magazine, what kind of round is loaded in the magazine?
Depends on the type of magazine. Some are made of clear polymer. Others have view slits to show how many rounds you have left.
But from a distance, rubber bullets vs. ball ammo would be hard to distinguish in any case. And a rubber bullet in the head at close range might still kill you, as can a blank.
Most definitely rubber bullets and “blanks” are lethal at close range! I personally have seen small varmints (rats, coyotes) killed with blanks at close range. Even a ‘blank’ expels a wadding (cardboard) plug that can be lethal at close range (<3 meters).
I was able to find references to two actors who accidentally killed himself while playing with a pistol loaded with blanks.
Jon-Erik Hexum, 1984 and Brandon Lee, 1993.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_(cartridge)#Fatal_accidents
Brandon Lee, et al.
My reply is lost in cyberspace. Will see if it appears.
MarkW
No.
In a word, no.
Does the definition of “live ammo” include the so called rubber bullets?
Yes.
Live ammo is any round which isn’t a blank.
The term for standard copper-jacketed lead bullets is ball ammo.
Anybody who thought this global warming solution thing was going to be a walk in the park is in for a serious re-think.
Anybody who thought that this global warming scam was anything other than a power and control grab by centralized government on a global scale is in for a serious re-think.
The Bureaucrats are hell bent on taking control over our lives even if they have to kill us for protesting their power grab.
To re-think implies a 1st-think. There is no evidence of that.
Agree completely.
Nothing good can possibly come from Macron releasing heavily-armed police against his citizens. The comparisons to other, hideously violent responses, towards predominantly non-violent and unarmed protesters will not reflect well on Macron….
Meanwhile, here in America police NEVER deploy live weapons against Antifa thugs, or BLM thugs. Our one-world, green, Communist/Fascist Mayors would NEVER allow such a thing. In fact, in Portland … the police actually “partner” with the street rabble against law abiding citizens … because they’re on the “same side” … politically.
Police are under the control of government and those that rule. This situations in which the police “partner” with thugs or are ordered to stand down from protecting one political group or another are particularly worrisome.
The PPB Chief and Commissioner (the mayor) are on the same side as Antifa goons, but few cops are. But they have to follow orders and ignore Antifa and homeless crimes.
How telling:
” But they have to follow orders…”
Oh really? Remember the question parents asked their children ” if Johnny jumped off a bridge then you would too?”
Pure Weakness. No Constitution. Shell of a human being, such types. Dominators, fear-fueled weaklings parading around as an authority and they can’t even follow their own moral compass and say no to being told to violate others. But that’s fine, keep grovelling at their feet and singing their praises. Even though every time these situations occur it’s the same party initiating the violence against the population.
It’s amazing to see such otherwise intelligent people completely abandon logic and principle when it potentially threatens their worldview
The validity of the Nuremberg defense depends on whether the one following orders was acting for the winning or losing side. As the Milgram trials and numerous follow up studies show, most people (≥70%) will commit unspeakable violence if they believe that they are following the orders of an authority figure.
You are cop, doing a good job of protecting citizens from citizens, day in and day out.
Are you actually advocating quiting because the mayor/chief of police ordered you to ignore the hooliganism of a group of protestors on a single day.
Really?
I thought we left the “unless you are with us 100% then you are an enemy” nonsense to the liberals?
Matthew Drobnick
You haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.
I am an ex cop and have helped more old ladies over the road, delivered more babies, rescued more pets from drowning, delivered more death messages to families, driven more drunks home and generally served my community in a humble way, than I have anything else. Nor can I think of one occasion where I have even come close to locking up the wrong person.
What you hear are usually second hand anecdotes from people who pronounce their innocence to everyone who’ll listen before being found guilty as hell in a court of law. People simply don’t understand the law so when some whining criminal tells everyone he was stitched up by the cops he is lying 99.99999999% of the time and his audience are so ignorant of the law they listen to his crap.
Cops usually spend 30 years in the job and would be unlucky to ever be involved in a civil disturbance. I was unlucky I guess, we had the Miners strike in the UK. Cops armed with nothing but a wooden truncheon, with no body armour whatsoever (this was the 80’s) and nothing to protect their heads but the familiar British Bobby’s cork helmet (that’s cork, as in the things in wine bottles) and a line of plastic shields were faced with savage gangs of men armed with clubs and missiles ranging from house bricks to vehicle parts. Eventually the cops were issued with riot gear consisting of proper helmets and visors with rudimentary body armour but they were just ordinary cops with very limited training. I know, I was never issued a helmet and armour because our area was largely peaceful, but I undertook the training nevertheless.
The problem is, these people were threatening the livelihood and security of millions of people by attempting to shut down multiple power stations. As cops, we were there merely to ensure the safe passage of the coal lorries delivering to those power stations. Nothing more. We didn’t want a fight.
So the conundrum was, do I maintain the energy security of my country from those who wish to disrupt it, doubtless with innumerable casualties on operating tables or those dying from cold, or being mugged in dark streets that should have lighting, with people starving because shops can’t function without electricity, for a few weeks of my career, or do I resign and flush my own family reliant on my employment down the toilet and abandon my community.
I have no idea where you come from but policing in the UK is undertaken with the consent of the people, not by dictatorial decree. The police here are a civilian force and must live amongst the community they serve so they ask themselves every day, am I doing the right thing here.
As for France, brandishing arms to intimidate the population is unwise. But that’s a political decision, not one taken by the police. Personally, I condemn the decision, if armed cops are considered necessary at some point, then keep them in the background, hidden from view until they are absolutely necessary. And by that I mean the situation should be completely out of control with innocent people under immediate threat and/or vital public services under threat.
I don’t see that in France, the police appear to be deployed with firearms to protect national monuments. That is unforgivable, but not the cops fault.
But there again, it’s difficult to judge from a distance particularly when we are subject to left wing media especially, as in the UK, when the biggest broadcaster is state owned.
“I was only following orders” died as an excuse after the Nuremberg Trials and the Death Camps.
It is way more complicated than that. Wikipedia is a good place to start.
So you are going to compare mass murder with ignoring the actions of goons?
That’s how it starts MarkW. If you use “I was only following orders” as an excuse, exactly when do you stop “following orders”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
Funny how wiki has such a thoroughly detailed article on My Lai and nothing on all the massacres committed by Viet Cong, Viet Minh, Pathet Lao and the NVA. And lets not leave out the Khmer Rouge, leaving people out hurts their feelings.
Police sometimes arrest the victims of violent attack … much easier than arresting the attackers!
They are the weakest of all humans, because they need special permission from others, hiding behind the force that accompanies brandishing firearms, to feel strong.
So tough. So honorable, So moral, says the order follower. Riiiight.
Cuckolds to Satan
Certifying the POleece will DO anything … to keep their generous salaries, benefits, and pensions coming. Hell … they’ll even cower behind their patrol cars when high school children are being slaughtered … why risk it all to save someone else’s kid? Right?
So Mathew. Are you advocating eliminating the police force? Or do do have constructive solutions for correcting our current system?
If they use those weapons on peaceful demonstrators, Marcon will be the “trous de balle.”
From the commentary, it seems reasonably likely that the French police are already actively targeting peaceful protesters over the violent, state-subsidized “anarchists protesting for more government” types. A lot of people have been blinded or otherwise maimed already.
See the stories about the firefighter in a coma after being shot in the back of the head or the videos of police beating up people who hadn’t done anything but show up to protest.
And people wonder why some of us support the second amendment.
Too few of us, I’m afraid. Too few.
It does look like Macron is worried. De Gaulle was forced out by demonstrations in 1968, so the French government has some real concerns.
De Gaulle wasn’t forced out in 1968. He announced an election and won.
I have been noticing how US “media” is actively downplaying the protests in France, and The Bebe is soft selling it. The political left, globally, has championed this type of protesting against governments and now it is spiraling out of their control. Best part? It is spreading.
Canadian media also downplaying but then again Trudeau and Macron are buddies. The CBC is a taxpayer funded liberal/Trudeau PR machine and the government has offered 500 million to the rest of the media to jump on board. So hey no progressive bias in Canadian MSM. It is also you never see the skeptic side of “climate change” in Canadian MSM.
I agree with you in general, but do you have some evidence of a 500 million payout to downplay the French Protests?
I wonder if these protests could spread to French Canada? I know lots of Quebecers enjoy a good protest. That would be interesting
nc didn’t say the payout was to ignore the protestors, he said it was to be more supportive of the left wing administration in general.
The payout is to keep the MSM in line, this is an election year for Trudeau after all. And most of the money will go to the CBC.
Canadian journalists are surprisingly spineless and compliant.
Weird, your reply did not show till this morning, wordpress being wonky. I have dropped CBC in the last few years, used to listen to them on shortwave, internet has kinda took over.;) I remember seeing Trudee and Macroon at some event and they certainly seemed quite chummy.
It is interesting how it’s the traditional supporters of the French left who are protesting the green insanity. Will those who support the political left in America ever wake up, or are they too consumed with hate and misplaced angst to see reason?
G36 is an assault rifle, i.e. select fire, capable of either full or semiauto fire.
Semiauto variants are SL8 and HK243.
Either way this is not going to end well for Macroon. The people of France of been shot by “police” before, no amount of massacres stopped them from resisting. In point of fact it just made them fight back even more.
Macron is French toast.
That is a shame, I like french toast. His Vieille mère should explain to him about what happened during the 1790s, she is supposed to be well educated.
She probably recalls well those turbulent times.
Sorry. Ungallant.
The usual French police 5.56x45mm rifle is the less rugged Ruger Mini-14, a scaled down 7.62x51mm M-14.
Should add that Mini-14 is semi-auto, with magazines of five to 30 rounds, and lightweight, hence suitable for police, assuming you want street cops armed with semiauto rifles rather than pistols.
France was one of the major purchasers of the Mini-14. It has an appearance that is less intimidating than military issue weapons while still packing the same punch in close quarters, such as street riots, and alley ways after herding people into them. Fish? Meet barrel.
It packs the same semiauto punch as 5.56mm military rifles at all ranges, since its barrel length, at 13 to 22″, overlaps that of 14.5″ M4 and 20″ M16. Barrel length of USMC M27, an HK variant, is 16″, although better would be 20″ for the Automatic Rifleman (SAW) and Designated Marksman (DMR) versions. Not as handy if you’re stacking up to kick in doors and clear rooms, but better at long range in Afghanistan.
Mini-14 was marketed to countries where military arms were mostly banned for civilian use, although it was quite capable in that roll, too. I’m not an AR fanboi, prefer my RPK and NPAP M70 AKs, and M1, of course. Hunt with SMLE. Yea. I’m a .30, map&compass Redleg Grunt, totally unrepentant.
Much as I respect and admire Gene Stoner, direct impingement, IMO, isn’t suitable for a main battle rifle. M16 is adequate in its designed intention, ie to arm USAF base guards.
Nor of course is 5.56x45mm adequate for combat, as shown for over 50 years. The Army is yet again trying to replace it, but the still secret 6.8mm cartridge may run afoul of trying to incorporate too many new technologies. Should revealed this year. Program to develop firearms to shoot it also continue.
If the cartridge’s muzzle velocity is as high as hinted at by Army CoS, then the bullet weight will have to be low, if it’s going to controllable on full auto out of an assault rifle.
This suggests a projectile with some kind of lightweight sabot and a subcaliber penetrator of tungsten carbide or similar hard material. IOW, expensive. But capable of defeating body armor at long range.
Polymer G36C actually weighs slightly less than a Mini-14, but with much shorter barrel.
Yep. The sort of rifle that mere peons aren’t allowed — even in that bastion of freedom and guns, the USA. Except in Hollywood, where every 2-bit villain has full-auto and an endless supply of ammp.
Citizens of many states can legally own full auto firearms, but it costs a lot to do so, given federal requirements.
Weekend after New Years I was out shooting a BAR and a Thompson M1A1, both legally owned and which I have the pleasure of getting to clean and service from time to time. One of the benefits of knowing several people who are FFLs and others who pay those exorbitant Tax Stamp fees.
Psot-New Years fireworks display!
Time for another Stamp Act revolt is long overdue.
The NFA is unconstitutional and these tax stamps just cost me an extra $800 for two SBR rifles and suppressors. I could have purchased a third, dedicated suppressor for my 6.5 bolt gun, but instead I’m stuck waiting up to a year to get my new 300blk and two suppressors.
Criminals just steal them or buy them from other criminals, but here I pass the CBI and yet I still have to pay extra to be polite and protect my ears, and wait nearly a year?
Some America. I really wish he would make America great again because it hasn’t been free since 1913
I’ve shot the Thompson, the FN p90 and and the Kriss Vector. All plenty fun.
Yep. G36 is full-auto-capable… an “Actual” Assault rifle.
Meanwhile, much of Europe will have to put down their pitch forks and torches as they await the the streets to be cleared of the record snowfalls.
Firebombing London, Dresden, Berlin and Tokyo, starving the Dutch, the Siege of Leningrad. None of these did anything but steel resolve and fire a desire for victory.
Reminds me of a certain princess speaking to a certain commander. Got to use reference points the younger crowds can get!
do you mean:
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star systems Will slip through your fingers”
Not sure how young a crowd that reference is for considering it’s been 40+ years since that certain princess first uttered those words.
Oh, they still get it!
I went to the theater to see that movie when it came out.
I have been thinking about that also!
Why doesn’t Macron just cut to the chase and crown himself emperor of the world?
I’m sure communists secretly would prefer that outcome: a lifetime gig as the Big Cheese who cannot be opposed. Then they get to just kill off everyone who disagrees with them…or anyone they perceive as a threat in any way.
As the man once said:
“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”.
Gives a clear indication of why the government wants to take away peoples guns.
The second amendment was designed to protect citizens from tyrannical government, not to allow them to go duck hunting. /rant
Duck hunting, home and self-defense are incidental to resisting domestic tyranny and foreign invasion.
The militia clause means that it’s legal to infringe the rights of kooks and crooks, who would be ineligible to serve in it with all those law-abiding, mentally healthy, able-bodied citizens over age 17, as defined by US statutes.
Teach your daughters to shoot and your sons to cook. Chances are good that they will be called upon to use those skills.
THIS is why the U.S. Constitution has the Second amendment.
TG McCoy January 16, 2019 at 6:42 am
THIS is why the U.S. Constitution has the Second amendment.
B I N G O !
The yellow vest protests are sending a clear signal not only to Macron but to all governments. …..: “State initiated regressive austerity creation will not be tolerated in the final analysis”.
Hiding the facts behind propaganda and stealth manipulations can only delay the inevitable.
The fact that subversive groups of all flavors are infiltrating the actual yellow vest protest group is making the whole mess even more volatile.
Yes, some real thugs have taken advantage of the protests to practice thuggery and vandalism.
Some might be regime agents provocateurs.
Yep, a classic tactic of insurgency and governments. The sewing of confusion is useful, and damned hard to control, once set loose it is very hard to stop. Again, the 1790s are a good reference point. Another is 1978-79-80 Iran.. Nicaragua, again in the 1970s. China from 1920 till the fall of Chiang Kai-shek. The list is quite voluminous.
Absolutely there are regime agents provocateur mixed in with the genuine demonstrators, along with a few football hooligan types who’re there to put the boot in for fun.
This has been true in all large scale demonstrations in the UK and Europe since the 1960s, and probably the US as well.
Is this Macron’s let them eat cake moment?
It’s Macron’s:
“Let them eat lead!”
movement.
Macron is obviously the canary in the coal mine. Pun intended. He raised fuel taxes in the name of climate change. Already pinched citizens were not having it. When the next economic slump comes there will be further resistance and even demands for a rollback of destructive green policies. Ontario is another good example.
The water canons used in winter aren’t much fun either and those were used and reported on in other reports.
Soak’em down, then taze, dampens the protesting spirit for a bit. 😉
Muslims riot and burn entire areas in day long mayhem: No response.
People protest unfair taxes: Shoot them dead.
When government starts treating it’s own people as the enemy, then it’s time to get a new government.
By vote if possible, by force if necessary.
Hang on with this immature BS and reality warp-age, Mark.
These ‘protesters’ have stated their case, and then repeatedly attacked public and private property, injured lots of people in the process, and openly declared and shown their contempt for the Govt and the French State’s policies and laws. They attacked the Government, and the Government is now defending the State, its laws and public order, as well as the innocent lives and livelihoods being damaged by this on-going anarchic behavior, and the loses of public and private property.
The squabblers have been sufficiently warned that the Government and the wider population are done with this attempted spree of anarchy and that if it continues strong force will be used by Police to quell and deter further illegal behavior.
You say, “When government starts treating it’s own people as the enemy, then it’s time to get a new government.”
Rubbish. These protestors are a minor radical subset of the “people”, and they have chosen to be an enemy of the State and much larger majority of “the people”, those who voted in this Government and whatever policies it enacts from there.
Contrary to your assertion, “it’s time to get a new government”, when it’s time to vote once more.
That’s the lawful process and trying to overthrow a Government for your selfish or ideological ends is still illegal, and still punishable by up to and including the use of deadly force.
Adults understand this, and if adults want to attack the State at that point, then they have only themselves to blame for it. But in a Democracy you accept the VOTE of the MAJORITY.
If you don’t like it you can emigrate to a State that has no Democracy, and everyone else will be happy to see that you are in a better place.
Otherwise, suck it up buttercup, and comply with the laws of the State that you’re a part of, until you can change it via legal means and processes. There is no excuse for what has been going on in France, the protestors have pushed the envelope way too far and expended everyone’s patience, which French protestors are famous for doing.
Whatever relationship this had to ‘Climate’ policy anger, reason or justice, has been lost at this point as these intransigent arrogant selfish protestors are their own worst enemies.
Tactics matter, tactics mean accepting responsibility and discipline from a political leader, and that’s where the street mob approach always goes wrong. Those movements always produce a ‘leader’ who’s nothing but a violent street thug at heart, and that is reflected in any tyrannical revolutionary government formed by them and their buddies at the barricades.
The anarchistic or revolutionary ‘cure’ is usually much worse than the disease and much harder and bloodier to remove thereafter.
There are copious petty, selfish mental two-year-olds on the internet, constantly calling for such ‘solutions’ to what are actually prosaic Democratic issues that have been continually blown out of proportion in order to polarize, radicalize and subvert every aspect of life, to create far worse situations. Such as we see developing in France, as a result of such willful scurrilous a-holes.
Well said.
Well said, yes, but I would like to point out a few things to consider:
Cuba, the forner USSR, and many other tyranical governments had elections. They mean nothing if there is little or no input from the people as for whom they can actually vote. It also means little if those in power collude with the press to make it seem as though only one or two of the candidates are acceptable. Look what happens when even that is not enough. Members of BOTH Parties in the US are striving mightly to bring down Trump. Why? Clearly his policies are not hurting the country. Why not simply ride things out for another two years and elect someone else? Imo, the ‘why’ is because his election set global elitists, holding power in both parties, back ten years. They don’t care about Trump, per se; they want to ensure that no one outside their little clique ever again tries to run for office like Trump did.
Then turn your gaze to the UK; a similar story there. Democracy handed down the verdict of Brexit. What are political powers in ALL the parties attempting to do? Reject Brexit. It was not suppose to pass, but they were too incompetent to stop it. So please don’t lecture us that elected governments are the people’s government. That is naive and ignores reality. Elections can be turned into meaningless events if entrenched bureaucrats, a willing press, and a strong central government are allowed to coalesce.
As far as your description of rabble-rousing, street thugs, your description would also match the MINORITY of colonists, in what is now the US, who wished to free themselves of British rule. The Boston Tea Party was not a gentlemanly meeting between two opposing sides, nor were the events leading to the Boston Massacre.
The challenge is to recognize what exactly is happening, both on the streets and in the government halls of power. Many on the streets are hard workers and honest citizens, tired of seeing the fruits of their labor confiscated. Many signs point to deep-seated, ideologically corrupt governments seeking power for the sake of power, thwarting the will of the people. That is clear evidence that the people have lost control over government.
We may not be there yet, but the day is coming closer when career power-crats will be forcibly removed from office, since they are increasingly ignoring and perverting elections and the will of the people.
A very good reply jtom!
Democracy should never be extolled as the highest form of government. WXcycles says…”But in a Democracy you accept the VOTE of the MAJORITY.”….”If you don’t like it you can emigrate to a State that has no Democracy, and everyone else will be happy to see that you are in a better place.”
”
Two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch is very democratic. Governments instituting monetary and policy tyranny, even with voter support, can be and often is highly immoral!
Yes, changing the course of political action via elections is preferable, but not always feasible. Goverments survive on popular support, or on the controlled appearance of said support.
Controlled how? – by rigged elections and or corrupted media lies plus a corrupted government dependent paid population, paid by taking the fruit of private sector Joe’s labor.
Read Rommel’s study on democide, or death by government, to better understand that government is indeed a necessary evil.
So at what point is civil resistance a moral duty?
Big deal, this is how communist dictators always respond to challenges against their authority..
Beware the DM as source. Anything French is suspect to them.
It appears that in Paris at least the peaceful gilet jaunes protests have been hijacked by the far left. Those protests have lost all connection with the original aim and are just rioting by anarchist and their usual lefty comrades. It is therefore more surprising that the government only now has decided to bring in the guns.
I struggle with this. On one hand, I don’t want to see violence and destruction but on the other hand, peaceful protestors will be ignored.
Quelle honte Monsieur Macron, quelle honte!
If there is any shooting, that is when the avalanche will really start.
This is why we should be stocking up on water and survival rations. It would be much more effective for these protestors to simply strike. Don’t work, don’t pay taxes, don’t contribute in any way to the oppressive government.
And what news sources can be considered trust worthy. Very, very few. There is a current debate about coverage of the yellow vest protests. Many of the same sources portraying migrants as mothers with small children when the majority have been young males are hyper-focusing on the violence associated with the protests.
This is not to say that the violence doesn’t exist because it does. Once upon a time we had something like this going on at the government plaza in San Francisco. For many years the local television would show a tight shot of an apparently large angry mob attempting to storm city or federal buildings on an almost daily basis. One day a reporter ask the camera to zoom out. It showed a tiny number of people compared to the size of the space. This gave viewers a completely different understanding and was much commented on.
The lack of trust in institutions often very well founded is a critical factor in the breakdown of civil society. Those running the institutions usually blame the citizens.
It’s mostly a process of deliberate subversion of minds via constant misrepresentations (as per your example) which spiral subverts everything else externally from there. There’s nothing decent or innocent about this either, no matter how they dress it up, especially when the media do it, or more-or-less support it simply to big-note themselves as ‘news’ to sell more commercial air time.
The fact that so many people already have their mind weakened and their reality constantly warped by legal chemical intoxicants makes it that much easier for subversion of minds to progress with little internal reflection or resistance. You can’t even think straight so how can you reflect or analyze, let alone plan sound actions?
Political ideologues and competing States (in conjunction with psychologists … again) have of course noticed this process and taken full advantage to divide and poison weakened minds, and further pushed the drug legalization agenda vigorously while doing it.
Anywhere that such psychoactive drugs are legalized, or unpunished, degradation and hellish conditions inevitably develop as a result. We’ve all seen it. You don’t have to look far to see how weak and destructive minds quickly become while everything they’re engaged in falls apart, at an accelerating rate.
Do we want to live in societies where weak and subverted minds are the norm? Isn’t a low IQ and failed teachers and failed education enough of a problem already? Do we really want to introduce factors that ensure that families decay and dissipate, long before the children reach 18 years old, so never get properly mentored or learn what it is to have a strong mind, and a clear understanding of things? What sort of parent wants a society to be like that?
A subverted parent with a weak mind on drugs might permit that to be situation normal.
This has been going on for decades. I had a cousin, one of three beautiful sisters, who attended the University of Georgia when it first integrated. She, as did many of her friends, went to witness the historic event of watching black students going to their first class. It was a momentous occasion, with cameramen, reporters, and photographers converging around tbe buildings.
A photographer from a leading weekly news magazine asked her if she would like to be on the cover of that week’s edition. She, of course, said yes, and he replied (not verbatim, of course), “Great. Just stand their holding a rock, and pretend like you are about to throw it at the students.” She was appalled and said she would never do such a thing. He simply found a willing young student, and got his photo.
We have been subjected to so much ‘phony’ news, it’s hard to know what has been true in our lifetime. It was an eye-opener when I read that Walter Cronkite lied about the Viet Nam Tet Offensive. We had three (that’s all) news stations available, but it was Cronkite who had the trust of the nation.
Remember, folks –
When you shoot people from another country, it’s war-mongering.
When you shoot people from your own country, that’s “Good Government”, according to socialism.
Funny. Around Portland, OR, they pretty much let protestors do what they want with a stand-down order to police.
Of course, these are progressive protestors around here.
I keep forgetting who uses violence and intimidation as a go-to.
Points out why you let the people have weapons. In the US where most people have weapons the cops have to use nonlethal methods for crowd control or risk escalating things into a shooting match. Weapons enforce politeness. The custom of shaking hands originated to show the stranger that you are not carrying a weapon.
And that’s why they’re trying to get rid of them here.
“In the US where most people have weapons …”. If you mean firearms, I suspect that “most” may be an exaggeration. That sort of statement is commonly spread by politicians and the MSM. Not sure just how true it is.
All people have weapons of one kind or another.
In the US, in recent surveys about 30% of adults admit owning at least one firearm, while another 11% lives with someone who does. But poll respondents might be lying. The figure is probably higher. Most households however, maybe not.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/06/22/the-demographics-of-gun-ownership/
While “most people have weapons” may be an exaggeration, the fact remains that anyone *could have* a weapon, so the posters point still stands.
So what?
This is what you find nowadays at UK music festivals, weekend-long events intended for families with young children. Assuming you can even find the event through a jungle of electronic snoopery and a forest of surveillance cameras.
Are you STILL gonna assert that ‘Everything Has Never Been Better’?
Comes off trying to exist on what is very effectively a Starvation Diet = one that revolves around cooked starch and refined sugar topped off with ‘recommended’ alcohol, cannabis and opium and made ever worse via vitamin deficiencies/depletions, esp A, B and D
It goes right to the very top – witness Brexit.
Climate Change is a nothing problem in comparison – even Dry January.
How’s it going?
Soon to start= Fat February – where you bin the wheat, corn, potatoes, donuts, chocolate, all other vegetable fats and use butter, coconut oil, lard and dripping in your cuisine.
Ordinary French folks, Les Jilly Joneses, use vast amounts of buerre in their cooking. It possibly aids the digestion of ‘cake’
Ooooohh, I smell a Cause & Effect ‘problem’…
What say you computer haha
I have an acquaintance in Holland who wrote to me that their police are in favour of the uprising.
Their advice is no damage and we are with you.
Popular uprisings have been driven by in-your-face and in-your-wallet governments.
They date back to Ancient Egypt when they forced dynastic changes.
In 1975 Barbara Bell published that a cooling trend impaired the Nile floods and food became scarce. But not to the governing classes.
The palace guards were “of the people” and when push came to shove laid down their spears.
Food distribution went back to the markets.
In 1989, East German border guards laid down their AK-47s and folk went “cross-border-shopping”.
And took down the Berlin Wall and Communism.
Socialists took to “Global Warming” and “Climate Change”>
With the recent action in Europe this uprising is spreading.
The San Francisco rent-a-mob as they became know dissipated some years later. A large lawless homeless encampment was allowed to grow on the plaza as a matter of city policy. It became to dangerous for the protesters.
Well, let’s just hope that old Macaroni is hoist by his own petard before too much longer…
1. You can’t tell what kind of ammunition is in the magazine without looking at the ammo itself, i.e. is it “live” ammunition or blanks. Blanks usually require a muzzle device to restrict the gas so there is enough to cause the action to cycle. There are rare examples of special magazines with special ammunition to use with grenade launchers.
2. Issuing rifles with ammunition is ineffective as an intimidation tactic unless everyone believes that the police are authorized to use deadly force. Typically, there has to be arguable threat of death or bodily injury to make it legally justifiable. The media however are unlikely to consider any use of force to be justifiable.
3. US police commonly have SEMI-AUTO rifles/carbines in their vehicles, usually AR15/M4 flavored. Very, very rarely are they full auto. European police are much more likely to have FA available, though that is dependent on the country and the police force.
I can’t see the value of full auto for police weapons anyway. What are they going to do ‘spray and pray’ a crowd of people hoping that the trouble makers will be the only ones hit?
I seem to remember that Victor Yanukovich of Ukraine did the exactly the same
But it did not end very well for him….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution
R
French National Police (civilian) got 204 G36C/K (short-barreled variants) in 2016 to combat terrorists.
https://www.politico.eu/article/paris-police-receive-assault-rifles-and-shields-terror-attacks-counter-terrorism-isil-islamic-state-isis-europe-news/
No surprise that the weapons will now be used against protestors who threaten police with violence, or maybe even if peaceful.
The National Gendarmerie (military with civil policing role) of course already had assault rifles.
The linked article specifically calls them “assault rifles”, so, unless the reporting be bad, the police G36s are capable of full auto fire, not just semiauto, as implied by the badly-worded Daily Mail article.
It makes sense that the BAC unit would want real assault rifles, since the Paris terror attacks included AKMs, which is why the buy included 7.62x39mm-proof shields.
You are correct. The G-36 is a military grade, fully automatic assault rifle.
There are semiauto variants, but they’re not called G36, and the National Police bought G36s.
Shooting the G36 carbine version, ie K-variant (for “Kurz” or short), with 12.5″ barrel. The C-version (for Compact) is even shorter, with a nine-inch barrel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTt8TsqIcoc
French National Police bought both short variants.
Standard barrel length is 18.9″. But it still overheats and loses accuracy during long firefights in hot environments, such as common in Afghanistan. The Bundeswehr began phasing it out in 2015, due to this problem.
Too much polymer, not enough metal. Carried lightening up too far.
HK416, ancestor of USMC M27, is better. It benefitted from experience with G36.
British police worried about their G36s after overheating reports. But not to worry. A) Bobbies unlikely to get in prolonged, full auto fire fights, and B) Britain doesn’t get as hot as Afghanistan. As in, not even.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3056013/British-anti-terror-police-using-assault-rifles-not-shoot-straight-hot-weather.html
So now French police shot a yellow vest Protestor in the head for protesting CAGW and the economy-busting taxes and policies it entails..
Got it….
Leftists governments have employed these tactics before, and it didn’t end very well…:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6593807/Shocking-video-shows-fireman-Yellow-Vest-protestor-shot-head-French-police.html
It was a rubber bullet, but was still enough to cause life-threatening head trauma.
The initial report on this matter erred in one point: The Heckler & Koch G-36 assault rifles the frech policemen featured are fully automatic, military grade assault rifles which are used by a number of NATO-members including Germany. They can be set to single shot or three-shot burst, too. But technically, they are fully automatic military assault rifles.
Background info on the yellow vest movement. Its more than just a gas tax. That was just the last straw.
https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=189550&sec_id=189550
They said that Global Warming would bring on armed conflict around the world, and it appears they were right.
This seems to support what others have said many times: (in essence) socialism leads to tyranny.
More accurately, it leads to a form of neo-feudalism. The middle class is squeezed out of existence by tax and wealth transfer schemes. The upper class elites become a new de facto aristocracy and retain all the perks of modern life. The lower and underclasses are bribed into going along with promises of free stuff, promises that are promptly forgotten once power is secured and the new nobility no longer need pretend to care about the welfare of the peasantry.
drednicolson – you are correct. I’ve posted this several times…
Here is how modern politics works:
The far-left is winning, especially in the developing world – over half the countries in the world are pseudo-Marxist dictatorships, based on their leftist phony rhetoric, but are actually just military dictatorships, run for the ruling elite and their armed thugs – see Zimbabwe and Venezuela… and North Korea, Cuba, the Soviet Union countries and many more..
The left gains political power by promising imbeciles lots of free stuff. Then they destroy the economy, create widespread poverty and live like kings atop a ruined state – because you can’t be kings without lots of peasants. Venezuela and Zimbabwe used to be wealthy countries – look at them now. Look at North Korea vs South Korea. Compare Cuba to neighboring island nations.
It is really no different in the developed world. Get elected by lazy greedy imbeciles, destroy the economy with fake green energy and other crazy policies, and live like kings on top of a ruined economy, looking down on all the peasants.
From my post above:
“… over half the countries in the world are pseudo-Marxist dictatorships, based on their leftist phony rhetoric, but are actually just military dictatorships, run for the ruling elite and their armed thugs – see Zimbabwe…”
The latest news from Zimbabwe:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/zimbabwe-leader-violence-by-security-forces-unacceptable-1.4263464
[excerpt]
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s president on Tuesday said “unacceptable” violence by security forces will be investigated after a days-long crackdown on economic unrest, while a doctor said the 12 documented deaths and more than 300 people wounded are likely “are just a fraction of the actual victims.”
[end of excerpt]
This is what Justin Trudeau wants for Canada – he wants to be our mad king. Justin’s performance record ranks him with George III of England, who in later years became quite insane. But Justin does not have the excuse of old age – he is simply crazy – with emphasis on the simple part.
Hmmm, resorting to gunpowder – Hey! that’s made with charcoal, a fossil fuel!!!! Don’t the greenies have a
renewable weapon? Why not threaten them with windmill blades? Birds and bats have found them to be quite lethal.
As you’re no doubt aware, modern propellants don’t rely on charcoal, as does the low explosive black powder. They descend from gun cotton, ie nitrocellulose.
But of course, carbon is still involved, with hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
Hey perhaps you can show them how to make weapons powered by Molten Salt Reactors. That’d be up your ally 😉
Charcoal is not a fossil fuel, it is partially-combusted wood – and, therefore “sustainable and renewable”
french like flics. They dislike gens d’armes.
Especially mounted gens d’armes.
Protesters should bring some guillotines lol. Not real ones of course.
Or just go pantless. Sans coulottes. Of course, a few years later some jumped-up Corsican responded with cannons.
Yup. Nappy’s career took off after he mowed down Parisian protestors with grapeshot.
i wonder how the french police single out the “yellow vest carbon tax protestors” from those protesting other issues
Shoot them all. Let God sort them out.
It worked against the Albigensians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnaud_Amalric
Raising people’s basic cost of living in times of wage stagnation will get them into the streets eventfully. This is what the socialist/green politicians are playing at. The French get there more quickly that others in the West.
Lying about the underlying science and costs behind planned energy cost increases. Expect blow back.
Looking the other way while immigration laws are violated. Expect blow back.
These two issues alone are enough to create unmanageable frictions in society.
This is very serious, and lots of BS being talked here, so take a look at some facts.
Mutilations of all sorts in large numbers…never been seen before, and a clear modification of the police code of conduct.
When a state claims a monopoly of violence then one should not be suprised if the next step will be the emergence of Ak47s + various other cheap and easy available stuff on various Marseille’s street corners, as the spiral of violence radicalises people to defend themselves.
We are literally 2mm away from it, especially after the Macron cretinous 6hr monologue from last night surrounded by an audience of leche-culs..and the never ending Benalla saga!
This is well worth watching, if you speak french as Aude is an excellent presenter and interviewer.
Would seem pointless having a weapon and loading it with blanks
You really dont get a great deal of magazine choices with those weapon types, they dont get much demand for low capacity magazines
When outnumbered 100+ to one by a crowd that has sometimes been violent and attacked in packs , what type of weapong would you want? regardless of where you stood personally and just had to do your job? Yes if it escalates people may get shot?
All those blokes that appear in airports and train stations during major event are also using “high capacity” magazines and live ammo. Never seems to be a dram then.
The whole thing reads like a liberal beat up. Escalate and escalate and then be surprised when there are consequences.
TBQH what has just been written here, sound like something from an extreme right wing lunatic fringe, defending the “ESTABLISHMENT.
“The whole thing reads like a liberal beat up. Escalate and escalate and then be surprised when there are consequences.”
Are you OK up there?
I can understand a lot of people writing here are from over the pond.
They are used to violence, schools being shot up, presidents assassinated, etc all in the so called name of “freedom” and the right to bear arms. You reap what you sow.
I don’t see kids going into classes or synagogues spraying bullets, in the UK or France, precisely because guns are not for sale on the high street, and by and large UK police are UNARMED.
(I don’t put terrorists and social movements/demonstrators on the same page do you?)
I don’t like to read here, nutters claiming legitimacy for killing people in the name of freedom and democracy.
In the commentary above it’s scary to read it multiple times, legitimising violence, glorifying lethal weapons.
That’s what it sure looks like it to me, as you gloat over all the intricate little details of every automatic gun you have ever tried in your lives….
That’s so infantile I can’t believe I read this on WUWT.
Violence begets violence.
I heard the same stuff this evening from a Frenchman… “in Africa there are too many Africans..”, so presumably we should cull them, which of course we already do, by refusing them aid to wipe out easy stuff such as malaria etc…
I suggested we had a big enough cull in Europe in 1941-3 with 20 million dead, and maybe the cull should start with him…never mind past centuries going in there and dragging them across to America to use as slave labour.
It’s called glorifying genocide and crimes against humanity.
You are only 1 STANLEY MILLGRAM button away from doing it yourself then.
Your really believe this crap?
“When outnumbered 100+ to one by a crowd that has sometimes been violent and attacked in packs”…
Go watch the (full length) video above and you will see for yourself, the police who pulled a gun on the peaceful crowd on the Champs Elysees provoked them by throwing explosive grenades and tear gas, before they got angry and went after them…
(guess what the MM edited out all that didn’t they!)
…or the CRS commander in Toulon beating the daylights out of an unarmed protestor – getting NO SANCTIONS cos they are acting in total impunity.
WTF!
If you want to comment about events in France, at least have the decency to know what European culture is about and spend some time here!
I have to agree with most of that. In the UK, almost all police are normally unarmed. It is a great reassurance to me.
Here in Oz or police are armed. It’s not pleasant. I’ve learned to accept it, but it still makes me uncomfortable. Luckily the general public is not armed. Since we brought in fun control, we don’t have mad shootings in the way we did (which caused fun control to be introduced).
People say that if you outlaw guns, only outlaws have guns. The fact is that most civilian gun deaths are not perpetrated by career outlaws, but by ordinary individuals, either demonstrably crazy or insane due to drug use.
I’m not happy around guns, and would not willingly live in a country where most people can just go and buy one.
Homicide and assault rates have actually increased in many US cities with heavy firearm regulation. Gun-control advocates and a complicit media hide this and claim the opposite by only counting cases where firearms were involved. They’ll breathlessly cover any shooting while staying largely mum about stabbings, beatings, and other forms of physical assault.
The rub is that there’s lots of ways to murder someone. A gun is just one way. But a gun is also an effective deterrant against most of the other ways.
Firearm ownership prevents far more violent deaths than it enables.
“I’m not happy around guns, and would not willingly live in a country where most people can just go and buy one.” Well, you need to stay where you are. I am happy around guns, own several and fire weapons routinely, mine and those owned by others. I do firearms maintenance and upgrades for many people, mounted a very nice multiple use scope for a friend who is a cop last week, low light/no light, integrated laser range finder, aim over scope fiber optic sight and integrated 500 lumen light. His wife bought it for him for Christmas and I got a great deal of enjoyment out of mounting it and then doing bench zero. Too bad it was on an AR. Oh, well, can’t have everything!
ZZ Wanderer, “The fact is that most civilian gun deaths are not perpetrated by career outlaws, ..”
Nonsense. In utopian metropolitan communities like Chicago it is very clear that those who have been arrested while in the company of others who were subsequently shot, were themselves likely to be shot. It is true that the majority of deaths by gun fire are suicides, and few of those poor souls were criminals prior to taking their own lives. Howver, if you remove the 22,000 who took their lives by firearms, the remainder are largely the victims of “career” criminals. And the majority of those victims are likely criminals themselves.
“Viral Video Shows EU-branded Armoured Vehicle Crushing Paris Protests”
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/09/viral-video-show-eu-branded-armoured-vehicle-crushing-paris-protests/
Since when did the E.U. have their own army ?
https://www.politico.eu/article/angela-merkel-emmanuel-macron-eu-army-to-complement-nato/
Why do so many Brussels bureaucrats have French given names and German family names?
Because the EU is in effect a French-German lead union. I really wanted to see the UK pull out under Brexit and watch the whole EU fall apart. The EU was an experiment at a United States type union that has failed dramatically. Where the USA is a success the EU failed. There is no common border, language or culture, and until the 90’s, no common currency. Thank reason the UK held on to Stirling.
Not entirely true. The Euro was actually attempted before in the 19th century I believe. It failed for exactly the same reason it will fail this time. Germany and France got sick of supporting the poorer countries.
Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it.
This was jammed with errors and bs.
“Because the EU is in effect a French-German lead union.”
Not any more, since the ex-USSR members joined up.
Heard of the Visegrad group?
France no longer has any credibility, Germany is dependent on Gazprom, and Benelux is tiny.
“I really wanted to see the UK pull out under Brexit and watch the whole EU fall apart.”
It’s falling apart quite well without the UK contribution to it.
Britain has for decades overestimated its importance and influence.
Old habits die hard.
“The EU was an experiment at a United States type union that has failed dramatically.”
I don’t call dramatic failure the ability to travel from Riga to Madrid without ever having your passport or ID checked.
Have you ever tried it?
“Where the USA is a success the EU failed. There is no common border, language or culture, and until the 90’s, no common currency. ”
This is real rubbish.
Schengen is the common border from OSLO to ATHENS.
The problem is, Britain didn’t sign Schengen and there are countries that stayed outside it inc Ireland. Even Switzerland is in.
Schengen is a huge problem for UK residents and nationals, because when the UK withdraws from the EU, no UK expat has any longer a Schengen visa, never mind the 100s of Indians, Japanese+many other UK residents who currently can’t even visit Calais for a weekend trip.
I can’t invite a UK res, Japanese friend to Warsaw because he doesn’t have a visa!
The common diplomatic language in the EU has always been French (It was actually used by the Russian Tsar’s court btw).
The common lingua franca for all communication has become English, thanks to the Internet.
Culture?
What is the common denominator between JS Bach and Edward Elgar?
Do we use a Chinese pentatonic scale or not have A at 440hz? (invented by Germany)
Do you realise the Covent Garden opera orchestra is led by a Russian?
Do we not have mp3 (invented in Germany), GSM phones & roaming (invented in UK), FM stereo broadcast and Formula 1, football, rugby and tennis (all invented in UK) PAL instead of NTSC, centigrade & DAB (both invented in France).
How many different nationalities are in London?
Under who’s banner are you likely to be buried?
As a majority it’s likely to be under the roof of catholic/protestant/orthodox..
Do grave yards look any different in Scotland or Lithuania?
No common currency.
Large numbers in the economy APART FROM the EURO exist, gold is traded in London and oil is traded in USD.
Poland kept the Zloti, Sweden and Denmark kept their Krone, amongst the others such as the Swiss.
“Thank reason the UK held on to Stirling.”
Stirling is in Scotland.
STERLING currency (spelt with an E) is one of the few reserve currencies in the world , for historical reasons. The others are the EURO, the SWISS FRANC, the USD.
If you can believe Sterling is of importance after Thatcher burnt off all the oil, & Gordon Brown sold off all the UK gold reserves, you are delusional.
WOW! You nitpick a spelling error. How about POUND STERLING? Does that soothe your precious feelings?
“The pound sterling, commonly known as the pound and less commonly referred to as Sterling, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory, and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence. Wikipedia”
“I don’t call dramatic failure the ability to travel from Riga to Madrid without ever having your passport or ID checked.
Have you ever tried it?”
Never tried Riga to Madrid, but from England (Dover) to France (Calais) AFTER I got my “no borders” EU (GB) red passport in the early 90’s I certainly DID have to carry and present it at borders. Maybe it’s different now, I don’t live in the UK anymore have not since 1995.
Patrick,
He said …
After entering Europe, I never have to show my passport, even when entering and leaving countries like Monaco. That is a huge advantage.
“Zig Zag Wanderer January 17, 2019 at 4:17 am
…even when entering and leaving countries like Monaco. That is a huge advantage.”
Monaco ISN’T a country.
“There is no common border, language or culture, and until the 90’s, no common currency. ”
This is real rubbish.
Schengen is the common border from OSLO to ATHENS.
The problem is, Britain didn’t sign Schengen and there are countries that stayed outside it inc Ireland. Even Switzerland is in.
It’s rubbish that there’s no common border because Schengen. yet Schengen isn’t common to all EU participants (*as you yourself go on to point out*) – Britain didn’t sign on, and other countries also stayed outside it. So in other words “real rubbish” is a more apt descriptor for your claim about Schengen being the common border since by your own admission it isn’t.
Interesting that they are using live ammo against these protesters. Seems as though if you’re a leftist mob causing violence over a leftist cause, the cops just sit on the side and watch.
The H&K G36 is not a SMG, it is an assault rifle, and fires 5.56 NATO rounds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_G36
You can get it in an SBR config that effectively makes it a sub gun, point being modern arms are highly adaptable, which confuses many people as to exactly what they are looking at. I have fired reduced M4s which were barely as long as my forearm, same in an AK. Many people seeing them would call them submachineguns when technically they are not. Lets us not even get into the multitude of definitions/nomenclature that endlessly comes out of BATF, just considering it makes me head hurt!
Qu’ils mangent de la énergie verte.
Yellow Vests Attacking Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a-sg-FsoGw
Yellow vests destroying public property
Comparison of cost of living in France and U.S.
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/France/United-States/Cost-of-living
The higher costs in France are not across the board. Though people in the U.S. make 18% more in disposable salary, it costs us: 12% more for internet, 34 % more for a loaf of bread, 7% more for rice, 5% more for monthly rent on a 1-bedroom apartment, 21% more for apples, 76% more for a bottle of wine, 15% higher interest on real estate.
A 3-bedroom apartment is only 10% more than in the U.S.
In France, according to Wikipedia, a medium income person is taxed at about 40%. The death tax is about like ours, around 30%, but it’s applied to medium and low-income wage earners – not just the wealthy. (Wiki)
Their public transport costs are about the same or less than ours (I got stuck in their stupid metro turnstiles a couple of times – where young healthy people have learned to vault over them).
A new car costs 13% more there than here in the U.S. And to actually PURCHASE a house or apartment in France costs about 4 times more than here. That is certainly a result of an entrenched upper class with ancient historical roots.
We might ask how much of their higher costs are due to inflation? how much to unions?
How many of the violent protesters being captured by youtube videos are union workers? How many are avowed socialists?
I understand that France’s petrol prices are twice that of the U.S. and their taxes on fuel are extremely high, 64% for unleaded, 59% on diesel. And to their credit, protesters were directly responsible for getting Macron to back off his additional fuel price increase on December 4.
But protesters are still out there in even greater force, escalating their violence against the police and property owners, burning cars, shutting down commerce and disrupting the lives of thousands of Parisians and other city dwellers. Why, exactly?
I noticed this:-
“more there than here in the U.S”.
So by your own admission no idea what you are on about, because not living in France.
I might as well start churning on about the USA, I would be so well qualified to drone on about that as I have been there all of TWICE! eh?
Then we get a whole load of BS & MM propaganda worthy of Mr Jupiter Macron himself cos you can trawl through google, but never BE HERE!
“Yellow Vests Attacking Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a-sg-FsoGw
Yellow vests destroying public property
Comparison of cost of living in France and U.S.
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/France/United-States/Cost-of-living”
I showed clearly in the video the violence being used by French police for which they have no sanction whatsoever,- acting in impunity in total contradiction of their term of service.
The request from old minister Jacques Toubon was turned down, who has 30yrs public service and made an authoritative report on which all police use of force is supposed to be based.
ZERO reply from Macron and his government.
The “debate” according to Macron involves going out to “meet the people” except the towns he visits get turned into fortesses, shops close, techniques worthy of the STASI, impossible to raise a single voice in opposition to Macron, not a single voice decrying the global warming scam..
ZERO again from Macron relative to true debate, who of course are judge and jury as to what subjects they will accept or might even deign to change.
Then we get this amazing pearl of wisdom?
“But protesters are still out there in even greater force, escalating their violence against the police and property owners, burning cars, shutting down commerce and disrupting the lives of thousands”
Who says the minority of hooligans are anything to do with the gilets jaunes?
YOU from 1000s of miles away!
MACRON’S government is illegitimate.
It uses illegitimate force.
It uses illegitimate pseudo science to enforce its policies.
It produces true bastard “children”… (eg. affair Benalla)
Yes, it’s pretty clear that your timid, repressed voices can scarcely be heard. There’s some violin music playing somewhere… it’s just hard to hear above the shattering glass, burning cars and screamed demands.
How is hitting a policeman with a brick going to help your cause?
THEY AREN’T CARBON TAX PROTESTERS, that’s a complete lie as has been already pointed out many times.
They’re wanting a whole lot of things including more money for their social healthcare, higher minimum wage, to be taxed under 15% and other stuff.
“Lower taxes!” was conveniently Americanized across the shore as “Lower Carbon Tax!”, but thats our right wing media for you.
And most of the yellow jacket photos going round are Photoshopped. Including the famous guillotine which was really copped off an Artists union protest earlier that year.
I’m sure you won’t hear Sean Hannidy telling you one of their demands is to ‘halt and reverse all privatizations’ either, lol….