Gilets jaunes protesters have knocked out 60% of France's speed cameras - Polidicks

I don't know about you guys But I heavily disagree with the use of speed cameras in the first place as they not only have too many problems they also can't factor in the human element and just clog the courts with bullshit tickets that anyone with two brain cells to rub together can argue away.

I think it's a bit reductive to say that it's for "petty" reasons

I see Jeremy Clarkson is getting involved

Let me rephase that a bit - "...smashing cameras thinking it's going to be a very valuable addition to the protests"

Well the whole point of a protest is to draw attention, in this case from the government. I'd say destruction of government property does that pretty effectively

I think people want to think that destroying government property is gonna do magical stuff, but it just makes the police efforts much higher. And before this, they also did smash up art which was in no way necessary. Another point is that the point of rule of law is that everyone lives by the same rules. So if the law is different for one group or another, then what is there to justify ones smashing of a camera for another persons smashing of a citizens car ? Last point is that you can't justify a protest against the government if you are smashing people cars, historical art or other property. You are making yourself just an thug in the eyes of the world. Unless the object of the protest is an agreeable evil ( i.e dictator ( like the old UKR. president that escaped to Russia or Gadafi )) The L.A Riots didn't cause that massive of a change. The National Guard was called and pretty much quelled the rioting. I think the same type of progress is going to be seen here, except French people are better rioters.

That's funny, the CRS, who intervened in pretty much every gilet jaune protest so far (and who are called in to secure pretty much any protest ever) are the branch of the National Guard that's equipped and trained to handle riots. So who are the government going to call in now to "quell" the riots exactly? The fucking army? Now that would be a stupid as hell move. Such an escalation of violence would only result in outright revolt. Just look at every country where that's been tried recently.

Yes, it has happened the the heartland of democracy its self https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots#Riots

"The heartland of democracy itself" lmao What exactly can the army do that anti-riot squads can't, except kill people? The French and Americans are two different people. If you think that a people with such a history of revolts and overthrown governments that it's part of the national identity, that go on strike so often that we have a website to keep track of them all, that does major protests pretty much every year, and that is now on its ninth consecutive weekend of gilet jaune protests will see the government sending the army to shoot its people as anything other than tyrannical, and will take it lying down, then you're sorely mistaken. That would lead to a situation more similar to Ukraine's or Syria's. Besides, unlike the LA riots, nobody got killed as a direct result of the protests so far. Unless you count the old lady who received a tear gas grenade in her apartment, which is the police's doing. So the government doesn't have any excuse to ramp up the violence like you're suggesting. They're not going to start shooting people for "breaking" (more like spray painting) speed cameras. That would get them deposed on the spot.

I haven't been paying attention to the whole thing at all, and it only took me 5 seconds on Google and then clicking on the Wikipedia link, to find out that: The protesters have called for lower fuel taxes, reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth, a minimum wage increase, and Emmanuel Macron's resignation as President of France. That's specific enough, and not "make things better".

I can't find it atm but there was a report that showed the National Guard were merely a bolster to the LAPD's boots on the ground and, in actuality, did almost nothing to actually quell the riots that more police officers wouldn't have done -- and the riots were dying anyway. Wish I could find the bastard article right now.