Movement of «Yellow Vests»: View from Russia and France

Bourmaud D., Lapina N.Yu.

Abstract

The interaction of political reality and the formation of ideas about it are an important area of political research. The authors were interested in the article: how has, for more than half a year, the «yellow vests» movement, which is amazing for France, been perceived from the inside and outside – in France and in Russia? The «double scan» method gives an idea of how political images are formed in different countries, who and with what purpose participates in their creation. Special attention is paid to the question of how the mass media of the two countries «work» with relevant political material. In France, analysts were primarily interested in the state of society, the social profile of protesters, their demands and motivation. The analysis was based on reflections on the «peripheral France» of the geographer Ch. Guilluy who is studying social groups that have been forgotten by state policy, political and media elites. Experts noted the peculiarities of the movement: it originated on the periphery, it is not organized and not structured, it lacks a leader. Difficult relationships developed between the «yellow vests» movement and the media: there was a deep mutual misunderstanding between informational and social actors, which led to open conflict. Russian analysts have written a lot about «yellow vests», focusing on analyzing the political consequences of the protest movement, its influence on French power. It was concluded that the protest movement would not allow the French President E. Macron to implement the European project and become the leader of a united Europe. French society and social protest actors were less interesting to Russian experts. Interpretation of French events allows you to learn about the state of Russian society and its elites. In the images of «yellow vests» as in a «double mirror reflection» modern Russia is visible.

Keywords

protest movement; «yellow vests»; globalization; France; Russia; mass media; politics; V.V. Putin; E. Macron; «double mirror reflection»; image.

DOI: 10.31249/rsm/2019.03.03

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