To think the French students are out of control?

"its disingenuous to claim no 'protestors' were involved and its 2 strictly seperate groups."

The rioters dress differently and arrive separately. It's not that a peaceful protestor suddenly starts looting a shop. Fighting with a police officer maybe, but you don't suddenly become a thief, do you?

I'm sympathetic to a lot of forign issues, I cant say Palistine is at the top of my list.

Irrelevant anyway. My point is, you really cant claim that none of the rioters were students. Im sure lots of people who just enjoy rioting joined in, of course they would, but its disingenuous to claim no 'protestors' were involved and its 2 strictly seperate groups. Thats just not how things work in reality, and in my opinion, a good portion of them were far left. Unless you have actual proof to the contrary, you'll have to accept people are allowed opinions that are different from yours.

I have got no reason to imagine posters are lying when they say they are in France. But if anyone had any reason to doubt them, I imagine they’d be reported and Mumsnet could verify them.

Mumsnet moderators can’t verify people posting on X. That’s why I don’t think screenshots from there are helpful sources. I don’t really understand what is controversial about that viewpoint.

Sure, there are organisers and there are some people who join in for other reasons. The organising and much of the violence is from the left.

People are losing sight of the fact that neither side are "winning" in this, just Russia laughing it's head off...

Mindless rioters of the type taking part in the last London/English riots.

I haven’t said I haven’t seen that destruction.

In fact, I said very clearly in my first post that I thought what began as legitimate protests had been hijacked by violent far left agitators.

Ok, well I had to look this up myself and he does indeed claim the violence is organised by far left groups, but adds that the rioting is done by delinquents who are not political.

"(...) a déploré le Premier ministre, pour qui "des groupes d’ultragauche ont organisé la violence dans plusieurs villes de France" tandis que "des délinquants s’(en) sont mêlés pour piller et détruire"."

Exactly.

LFI are certainly taking advantage, as I said and the movement is changing but the base of student protest was organic. Saturday was a bigger protest drawing in new groups.

The government have handled this very badly. I am not an LFI supporter, I think Mélechon is horrendous. The interior ministry is responsible for allowing police brutality against minors and Lecornu has been a disaster. I’m normally quite sympathetically to the government but this time they have totally failed.

That is a fair point - but they are posting directly on Mumsnet, so the Mumsnet moderators could verify them if there was any reason to doubt the veracity of their claims (which I don’t imagine there is)

I don’t think screenshots from X are helpful. Their posts can’t be verified.

And anyone who doesn't realise this is has very simple thinking.

Protests about education funding, my left buttock!

It may, may, have started like that but a quick glance at those burning down the heritage and shops of France show that they are not French schoolchildren. They are those who have no love for France or western civilisation.

What on earth is that awful Greta Thunberg doing there: is she suddenly concerned about French educational resources?

Why are some of these "schoolchildren" wearing Palestinian colours?

It's a real riddle isn't it?

As to protesting about a lack of teachers?

Well, I wouldn't teach in certain areas of France where, to show a picture of Mohammed, might earn me the same fate as Samuel Paty and nor should anyone else.

The French interior ministry is saying it, and Lecornu.

You can’t see the destruction?

It is likely some peaceful student protestors who have a legitimate case for needing more investment but it’s obvious there is rioting, looting and fires.

You have seen that part? That’s the weapon part, not a thread on mumsnet.

We don’t know anything about the posters who say they’re in France. The French authorities are, er, in France and they blame the left.

None of this is to suggest that the right doesn’t act violently or create disorder (and we’ve seen some nasty crap here from right-wing balaclava wearers). But in these riots, with the widespread appalling violence and arson, it’s the French left.

How do you know who is in France and who isn’t?

Wasn’t there a Mayor protesting a week or two ago? He was laughing alongside people trashing stuff. When the people running the place don’t care then I’m not surprised the civilians feel the same.

The Palestine flag is being used a symbol for peace and a symbol for extreme violence.
It is time to stop people using it.
I would consider myself centre leaning to the right. I will no longer be accepting the right wing violent rhetoric from the left. They haven’t a leg to stand on, violent bleeding heart brigade,

The majority of the protests were peaceful and brought together normal people of all ages, including firefighters, who just have enough of the daily struggle with the cost of living and are simply exercising their right to protest.

But in the news the focus is on destruction and that is not a fair representation of what is happening.

I also despair that people are more upset that a Vuitton store might be looted (a company that makes millions and will just be covered by insurance) that the fact that a large part of the population is fed up and struggling and that kids are worried about education, the environment and their future in general.

It really says it all about some people's priorities....

As for the people on this thread with an agenda who are trying to blame 'the left' or young people who have immigrant backgrounds: pathetic.

And by the way French people include people who are black or brown. They are not 'immigrants'. They are born in France and French nationals.

It'd be better to ask the rioters themselves!
And by French authorities, who do you mean? Is Macron saying the rioters are serious protestors for the far left rather than mindless thugs?

No, I’m talking about the author of the tweet - we have absolutely no idea who they are, so I don’t think sharing their unverifiable post is helpful.

I know there have been riots here, I just don’t think we need even more of that.

Peaceful protests happen here, too.
I don’t think that’s what people have in mind when they celebrate the French revolutionary spirit.

I was talking about the rioters, not anyone who carries a Palestinian flag, which I said myself is pretty general, not a far left thing. I know very few people who aren't sympathetic to Palestine actually. Are you not?

What the Far Right are doing is weaponising the unrest, and using it to push the same old line that anything and everything is about immigration.

It is horse shoe theory in action: anti semitic and islamophobic conspiracy being pushed by the extremes and the protestors’ legitimate concerns being lost in the midst of it.

You can see it on this thread - posters in France are describing what they are actually seeing and experiencing and they are being shouted down and told they are wrong by people miles away, based on something on extremist influencers from one side or another have circulated online.

I’m basing it on a variety of things, including that that’s what the French authorities say. But if you think France is like Russia or Iran and the French state just makes shit up, do tell us.