I don’t have answers for all your questions but I can try to give you my opinion on a few of them.
Why are french people able to organize and routinely protest by the hundred of thousands? I think it’s an heritage of our extensive socialist History. Unlike the United States, socialism has never been a bad word here in France, and we’ve had openly socialist and/or communist political parties, trade unions and non-profits since the 19th century, which for several times in our History had a huge impact on our society (at some point after WW2 the communist party was the largest political party in France for several years). While socialism is on the backfoot nowadays, I think it still has somewhat infused in our culture, and it’s still strong enough that parties and trade unions can still call for a national-scale protest with some success.
Is our police armed? Yes it is, and yes it sometimes uses lethal force, especially against minorities. It still hasn’t fired live ammo into a crowd yet (at least not in the 21st century), but they do love using “less lethal” weapons like rubber bullets, stunning grenades and tear gas, which lead to several “accidental” deaths and crippling of protesters. To be honest I am afraid of cops whenever I protest, and I try to be as far away as I can from them.
About looting, setting stuff on fire and material damage, don’t get fooled by media. The immense majority of protesters are just marching peacefully while a tiny, selfish minority takes advantage of the situation to get free stuff.
I don’t have answers for all your questions but I can try to give you my opinion on a few of them.
Why are french people able to organize and routinely protest by the hundred of thousands? I think it’s an heritage of our extensive socialist History. Unlike the United States, socialism has never been a bad word here in France, and we’ve had openly socialist and/or communist political parties, trade unions and non-profits since the 19th century, which for several times in our History had a huge impact on our society (at some point after WW2 the communist party was the largest political party in France for several years). While socialism is on the backfoot nowadays, I think it still has somewhat infused in our culture, and it’s still strong enough that parties and trade unions can still call for a national-scale protest with some success.
Is our police armed? Yes it is, and yes it sometimes uses lethal force, especially against minorities. It still hasn’t fired live ammo into a crowd yet (at least not in the 21st century), but they do love using “less lethal” weapons like rubber bullets, stunning grenades and tear gas, which lead to several “accidental” deaths and crippling of protesters. To be honest I am afraid of cops whenever I protest, and I try to be as far away as I can from them.
About looting, setting stuff on fire and material damage, don’t get fooled by media. The immense majority of protesters are just marching peacefully while a tiny, selfish minority takes advantage of the situation to get free stuff.