Emmanuel Macron, current President of France, announced last month that a carbon (green) tax, as a part of his environmental policy strategy, would be effective January 1st. This decision caused widespread unrest among the citizens of France. Protesters nicknamed gilets jaunes, or yellow vests due to the neon yellow vests worn by protesters, took to the streets protesting multiple causes.

Originally the protesters wanted to repeal the green tax on diesel. However, there have also been calls to raise the current minimum wage, dissolve the National Assembly, and hold new elections. Macron has also been called out to resign.

The protests have turned violent. A recent report confirmed that four people have died since the protests began. In addition, three others were killed in separate traffic accidents caused by roadblocks set up by yellow vests, and a report of an 80-year-old woman in Marseille showed that she died from injuries she received when a tear gas grenade hit her in the face as she closed her apartment windows to protests below.

Macron and the French government responded by denouncing the violence and holding crisis meeting after meeting with directors. In addition, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was supposed to meet with representatives of the yellow vests, but after learning that the meeting would not be broadcast or televised, they canceled.

News of the protests have been heard all over the world, and even here at Parker. “I think it’s cool seeing that this is happening,” sophomore Zoey Blickstein said. “In history class, we were learning about the French Revolution, and it’s interesting to see the differences and similarities between what’s happening now and what happened during the French revolution.”

Governmental officials have been responding to this issue with mixed reactions. In light of these protests, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner was quoted saying that the anti-government protests in France have “created a monster.”