Violences of the Yellow vests movement and media coverage

Upload: 6 May 2019, Last update: 14 May 2019

The pictures or the videos of violences are impressive for audiences. Media often covered those scenes. In fact, those violences of “casseur” happened during the demonstrations. In order to maintain the public order, police ,for example, used the LBD (le lanceur de balles de défense), then the UN requested the French government to investigate “excessive use of force”[1].

But it doesn’t mean that the Yellow vests movement consists of only the violences.

There is a civil power to speak up to the government.

The violences are not acceptable, but I don’t think it is a great idea to have negative image on demonstrations just watching the violence scenes of the demonstration.

The violences actually happened in the Yellow vests movement and I’m not saying that the violence can be justified. But when people especially far from France watch those scenes, since the scenes are impactful, people tend to have just the image of violences on the Yellow vests movement. Or even non-French media report more on the violent scenes and not assign time so much time on the context of the movement (I think this is closely related to limited time of the news part).

[1] http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/gilets-jaunes-l-onu-reclame-a-la-france-une-enquete-sur-l-usage-excessif-de-la-force-06-03-2019-8025750.php Accessed 6 May 2019