French President Emmanuel Macron may have maneuvered to block the growing uprising, but it’s quite possible he’ll lose his presidency in the process. French police took a much more aggressive posture this weekend.  The violence is disturbing.

In an effort to stop a replay of last week’s violence, French police moved in pre-dawn raids to round up those they identified as leaders of the Yellow Vest protest movement. In the city of Paris over 800 arrests were made by Macron’s forces and the French military were deployed. Overall, throughout France more than 1,400 arrests were made so far.
As the sun set, less organized protests continued as frustrated French set fire to cars, burned barricades and smashed windows in isolated geographic pockets within the city. Police forces were boosted to around 8,000 across Paris, with EU armored vehicles deployed in the city of lights for the first time in modern history. The pictures are stunning.
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Yikes, and a simultaneous ‘Wow’.  French President Emmanuel Macron has officially shut down Paris this weekend in his attempt to stop the “Yellow Vest” populist uprising against current political policies.
The primary tourist venues are all closed; shops ordered to close; windows boarded up; 8,000 police units dispatched to Paris and 89,000 deployed throughout the country.

PARIS (Reuters) – Paris was in lockdown early on Saturday with thousands of French security forces braced to meet renewed rioting by “yellow vest” protesters in the capital and other cities in a fourth weekend of confrontation over living costs.
The Eiffel Tower and other tourist landmarks were shut, shops were boarded up to avoid looting and street furniture removed to avoid metal bars from being used as projectiles. About 89,000 police were deployed across the country.

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Breaking overnight the French government is attempting to stem the growing civil unrest by announcing they will suspend the plan to implement the upcoming fuel tax.  However, the Yellow Vest protests have grown to personify much more than a new fuel tax.
The protests have morphed into a much larger anger about the influence of a disconnected elite political class, personified by President Emmanuel Macron, over the lives of the ordinary French citizen.  The fuel tax was the last straw, the underlying issues remain.

(Via Associated Press) PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is to announce a suspension of fuel tax hikes, a major U-turn in an effort to appease a protest movement that has radicalized, French media reported Tuesday.
Both Le Monde newspaper and France Info radio said the planned increase, which has provoked riots, will be suspended for several months. Philippe is also expected to announce other measures aimed at easing tensions, just three weeks after claiming that the government would not change course and remained determined to help wean French consumers off polluting fossils fuels.

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The protests, turned riots, are named ‘Yellow Vest’ after the high-vis jackets that are required in all French automobiles.  The protestors wear the vests amid their fury over rising fuel prices;  However, the protests have now evolved into a direct confrontation to the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.

According to media reports over 5,000 police were deployed as angry protestors began breaking stuff, smashing store windows and battling with government riot squads.

Despite the show of force by police the crowd overwhelmed their positions and set up barricades to block any effort by the French government to break up their protests.  Check points along the Champs Eleysees and Arc de Triomphe were taken over by the scale of the crowd.   However, it’s not just Paris – disruptive protests are happening throughout France.

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The latest signs of economic nationalism -vs- economic globalism surfaced today in France as thousands protest.

Significant riots broke out today amid backlash to the economic policies of French President Emmanuel Macron.  Fueled by resentment over a new gasoline tax, thousand of Parisians took to the streets to protest. [See Daily Mail Article Here]

(Via Reuters) […] The unrest is a dilemma for Macron who casts himself as a champion against climate change but has been derided as out of touch with common folk and is fighting a slump in popularity.
While the movement, which has no leader, began as a backlash against higher fuel prices, it has tapped into broader frustration at the sense of a squeeze on household spending power under Macron’s 18-month-old government.

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An article published originally in the U.K. Telegraph, and republished via Yahoo News outlines growing fear within the U.K. government and British intelligence officers surrounding President Trump discovering how far they were involved within “Spygate”.
The facts are not uncommon to anyone who has done research into the events of 2015 and 2016; however, the interesting aspect surrounds the current level of anxiety which indicates something is soon to become very public.
The central concern of the British officials surrounds President Trump declassifying evidence that will outline a coordinated effort by a weaponized U.S. intelligence apparatus to use their foreign counterparts for two aspects:  (1) to spy on the Trump campaign in 2016; and (2) to help carryout an entrapment scheme that would become the baseline for the FBI’s counterintelligence operation which evolved into Mueller’s Russian election interference investigation (aka. the “insurance policy”).
According to the Telegraph outline the current U.K. Prime Minister is intentionally being kept out of the communication loop because British intelligence are fearful President Trump might ask about her knowledge.  Keeping Theresa May blind to the U.K operations against Trump provides plausible deniability if questioned.  Additionally, all British embassy staff in the U.S. have been told to say absolutely nothing if questioned.
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This is what I call representing the red-blooded patriotic American.  Plain-speak, direct truth; what every middle-American would say to in the same or similar circumstance. And ironically, this is also (almost verbatim) one of the reasons Donald Trump earned my support in 2015:

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The blood of Americans, provided the current freedom of France. Period.
Our inherent American DNA strain is liberty and freedom.  Within that core we achieve, drive, and transfer our united national essence into everything we do.  Even the wealth and economics of our nation are dependent on this cornerstone; it drives our entrepreneurial existence.  We know how to do things, create things, and think completely outside the box on new and innovative ideas for things.
Yes, we are exceptional like that.
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Comemorating the 100 year anniversary of the end of World-War-One, President Trump a ttends the American Commemoration Ceremony at Suresnes American Cemetery hosted by the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission:

[Transcript] Suresnes, France – 4:14 P.M. CEST – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much. Please.
Major General Matz, I want to thank you and everyone at the American Battle Monuments Commission for doing just an absolutely fantastic job.
Exactly 100 years ago today, on November 11th, 1918, World War I came to an end. Thank God. It was a brutal war. Millions of American, French, and Allied troops had fought with the extraordinary skill and valor in one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history.
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President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron deliver remarks to the media prior to a bilateral meeting.

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[Transcript] Élysée Palace – Paris, France 11:05 A.M. CEST
PRESIDENT MACRON: I wanted to welcome my good friend, President Trump, and wanted to thank you for this visit after a very important time in your domestic policy.
I do appreciate the fact that you came here, Donald, after your visit for Bastille Day in 2017, and now our state visit in Washington beginning of this year. I think it’s very important to celebrate our soldiers and the great solidarity between our two nations. And we are the best (inaudible) allies, and this is what I told our people.
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Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the 1983 Beirut marine barracks bombing.  For many CTH readers the images of the attack that killed 241 U.S. servicemen are forever seared into our memory.  The bombing was one of the most horrific events during the terms of President Ronald Reagan.
Joining the President today to commemorate the anniversary were families of the fallen and those who survived the October 23rd, attack by Iranian backed Hezbollah terrorists.
President Trump was also joined in remarks by Secretary of Defense James Mattis who was the casualty notification officer for Rhode Island victims in the aftermath of the explosion.  The prayer toward the end of the formal remarks is quite touching.

[Transcript] – East Room – 6:26 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.) That’s fantastic. Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you very much. A lot of spirit in this room. (Laughter.) A lot of spirit. For good reason.
We’re gathered together on this solemn occasion to fulfill our most reverent and sacred duty. Thirty-five years ago, 241 American service members were murdered in the terrorist attack on our Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. It was a very sad period of time. These are great, great people.
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