Lato Lapsa: Unrest in France Is Part of a Long Tradition of Street Protest
Latvian commentator Lato Lapsa, speaking on TV24, assessed the recent protests and riots in France, pointing to the country's long history of mass protest. He said he does not believe migrants introduced France's culture of violent protest.
Latvian commentator Lato Lapsa discussed the large protests and subsequent unrest in France this October on the TV24 programme “Ziņu TOP”. He stressed that such events are nothing new for the country, calling them “a normal French phenomenon”. The unrest was widespread and hit several cities, which may affect both French security policy and domestic politics.
What happened in France
After the unrest of 17 October, the French government admitted that its security services had not accurately gauged the scale of the protests. Police numbers in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities proved too small to control scattered groups of people who engaged in clashes and looting.
More than 2,400 people have been detained nationwide. Cars and buildings were set on fire, shops were vandalised, and there were clashes with police. The protests were originally driven by the cost of living, insufficient funding for education and dissatisfaction with public services.
Lapsa's assessment
The commentator noted that France has a long tradition of mass protest and that similar upheavals occurred before social media existed. He cited the student unrest of 1968 as an example. In his view, French society has long held the belief that a loud street protest can deliver political results. He also said the state has been too lenient toward disorder for a long time, and joked about car burning as a “national sport”.
Lapsa suggested that demographic change and long-term migration from former colonies are a factor to consider when assessing present-day France. However, he stressed that it would be wrong to claim that migrants introduced a violent protest culture.
French officials have pointed to members of radical left-wing groups and opportunistic looters in the violent incidents. No public evidence shows that any specific immigrant community organised the unrest.
The commentator was also sceptical of explanations that the scale of the protests can be put down solely to social media or coordinated outside influence. In his view, what is happening is a continuation of France's old street-protest culture, joined by present-day problems: the cost of living, dissatisfaction with state policy and social tension.
