'Yellow Vests' against French arms supply to Ukraine amid protests
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The social movement is against the continuous arms supply to Ukraine, which triggered a hike in France's defense budget.
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Flags waving during nationwide strikes and protests against the French government's pension reform in Paris, France in March 2023. (AFP)
In a statement to RIA Novosti on Friday, the political arm leader of the French Yellow Vest movement, Thierry Paul Valette, relayed that the movement stands against the continuous arms supplies to Ukraine, which contributed to a hike in France's defense budget.
"They [the Yellow Vests] are against [arms supplies to Ukraine] because it comes at a price. The budget of the French armed forces will be raised to 400 billion euros [$436 billion], and that is a significant increase," Valette said, adding that the movement aims to bring together economically vulnerable groups in France who do not understand the logic behind France's increased defense spending to support the military benefit of another country.
"The growing misunderstanding is prompting the rise of populist opinions [in France]. The war in Ukraine and the support of Ukraine are causing more and more disapproval," he said, explaining that people are growing more confused as to why government money is going to another country while France's economy is hitting rock bottom.
Read next: French pension talks end in 'failure' ahead of new protests
The movement also protested against the government’s repeated usage of “Article 49.3” in the recent pension reform which, in their opinion, cut short democratic, legislative debate in order to adopt the budget for 2023.
That said, the movement leader claims that imposing sanctions against Russia, which the French did not choose, was not a fully sovereign decision made by French President Emmanuel Macron since he was following orders from Brussels.
Valette justified his argument by listing energy insecurity, price hikes, and logistical disruptions as consequences of the sanctions, which now amount to 10 packages imposed by the European Union against Russia since last February for the war in Ukraine.
