Violent protests have rocked the French capital, sparking worldwide alarm. The source of the unrest is something Aussies are furious about too.
Paris is burning.
The city of lights has become a city of fire and fury in the past week as the French take to the streets in violent protest.
Images of barricades and tear gas around the Arc de Triomphe might make you think the French are up in arms again over liberté, egalité or fraternité. Not this time. Instead, they are furious about … ahem … affordabilité.
French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to lift the tax on fuel. That’s right, the anger that has caused so many cars to be flipped and set on fire goes back to the price of petrol. The same topic that causes Aussies to write lengthy comments in online forums and grind our teeth in silent bitterness.
“He is declaring war on the French People,” a protester told the BBC, while wearing the hi-vis yellow jacket that has become the symbol of the protest.
Inflation in France is only 2 per cent. Hardly that high. The trouble starts when prices rise on things people can’t avoid using — such as fuel.
COST OF LIVING
These protests show just how much cost of living matters.
Ignore the fact the protesters should mostly be angry at US President Donald Trump and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for rising oil prices; the reality is that if prices go up, people get furious. And they take it out on their governments.
(The US War of Independence started out as a dispute with Britain over the price of tea, remember. These things can really spiral out of control.)
Both Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison know how important cost of living is. The Coalition has a policy called “Help with the cost of living”, and Labor has a “Fair Go Action Plan” that talks about the cost of living as the very first thing.
Australians now rate cost of living as the number one priority for the Australian government, according to the latest True Issues Survey by JWS. Mr Morrison might be nervous however, as it is also the issue we rate the government worst on.
You can see the top five issues in this next graph, and also how we rate the government’s performance. Expect to hear a lot about cost of living between now and the election.
