Essay by Eric Worrall
I was almost fooled – I thought the French protests were illegal immigrants kicking off, or radical leftists randomly burning stuff. Then I had a closer look.
Protests spread across France as ‘yellow vests’ set to join
Demonstrations began in mid-September at schools and have expanded, tapping into wider grievances.
Paris, France – Saturday is a day of many unknowns. That was how the French newspaper Le Monde described it as France braced for possible nationwide demonstrations bringing together high school students, trade unions and “yellow vest” activists.
The protests began in mid-September at a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, where students took to the streets over dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and what they see as a deeply unequal education system.
Since then, the mobilisation has spread to thousands of “lycees”, or upper secondary schools, across the country. It is now beginning to reflect broader anxieties in a country grappling with a combination of fiscal pressures, economic stagnation and mounting social discontent.
Teachers, trade unions and university students have joined the movement.
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Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/17/france-braces-for-nationwide-protests-with-yellow-vest-members-set-to-join
Why is France unable to provide for the needs of its people? Why are schools buildings being neglected, why are students struggling with overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages? Why are people so angry about the cost of living in France?
Perhaps the French government has the wrong priorities?
Despite using less fossil fuels, France is still far short of the 5 per cent annual reduction in emissions it needs to meet its climate targets.
France’s emissions are falling as fuel prices soar. Why is it still missing climate targets?
By Craig Saueurs
Published on 14/10/2026 – 7:02 GMT+2France is getting an unexpected boost in its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but it comes with a catch consumers are feeling at the fuel pump.
Soaring fuel prices caused by the war in Iran have prompted people to buy less diesel and cut down on their gas use at home. That has helped bring emissions down 4.1 per cent in the first half of 2026, according to Citepa, a French organisation that measures air pollution and greenhouse gases to track the country’s environmental impact.
France is now on track to cut emissions by 2.8 per cent this year, up from 2.1 per cent in 2025. That would amount to 10 million tonnes fewer emissions than last year.
Even so, it’s still falling short of the pace needed to meet its long-term climate targets. France is aiming to halve emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, but meeting that goal will require annual reductions of around 5 per cent.
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Read more: https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/14/frances-emissions-are-falling-as-fuel-prices-soar-why-is-it-still-missing-climate-targets
It doesn’t have to be this way. From 2013, the last time someone tried to get the French fracking industry off the ground;
Fracking ban upheld by French court
Published 11 October 2013
France’s constitutional council has rejected an attempt to overturn a ban on fracking, the controversial method of extracting gas from rock.
US-based firm Schuepbach Energy challenged a ban imposed in 2011 based on potential risks to the environment.
President Francois Hollande has opposed the technology, as have the Greens, a partner in the governing coalition.
France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, has some of the largest shale gas deposits in Europe.
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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-24489986
France sits on a lake of recoverable fossil fuel, some of the largest reserves in Europe.
Drilling and refining that oil and gas could alleviate the cost of living pressures which have brought angry French people onto the streets. But the political establishment refuses to allow fracking, because their obsession with reducing CO2 emissions takes priority over helping people who are so desperate they are burning their own schools in protest.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of opportunistic criminals and radical leftists mixed in with the rioters. But the big motivation driving the masses onto the streets is genuine hardship and poverty, which are to a great extent the consequences of anti-prosperity climate policies deliberately embraced by the French state.
Being a member of the EU may also be contributing to the unresponsiveness of the French Government. The EU has been repeatedly criticised over its perceived democratic deficit, its difficulty prioritising issues ordinary people care about.
France’s soaring government debt and inability to reform its social benefits system likely isn’t helping.
Despite these in some cases uniquely French issues, the question in my mind is not when will the French riots end. My question is when will the rest of Europe rise up and join the French protestors?
In Germany cost of living pressures are in some ways worse than France, the extensive French nuclear programme has partially shielded the French from the worst of Europe’s energy policy failures.
So far the Germans and the Dutch and the Italians and the Spanish and the Portuguese and all the other Europeans who are suffering just like French, suffering lost jobs and green economic decline, are right now mostly suffering in silence. But will this prove to be the calm before the storm?
