Are there any continuities between the gilets jaunes protests in Paris and the 2005 insurrection in the banlieues? In this interview with Joseph Confavreux, Alain Bertho discusses the differences and similarities between the two historical moments, and situates the gilets jaunes movement within a broader history of urban riots.
Macron has always presented himself as beyond traditional political categories. In this interview with the Huffington Post, Toni Negri argues that the gilets jaunes movement, which can be characterised as neither Left nor Right, has now challenged Macron on his own representational ground, and forced centrist populism into its first great crisis.
Louis Althusser critiques Michel Verret's response to the May 1968 uprisings, and in so doing indirectly critiques the French Communist Party's handling of the situation. Available for the first time in English.
Decades of neoliberal policies have shattered the French economy and led to low growth, high unemplyment and increasing inequalities. In this article, Cédric Durand and Ramzig Keucheyan argue that the emergence of the gilets jaunes could serve as the basis for a new politics, one that provides an economically just and environmentally protective alternative to the status quo.
Jörn Schütrumpf remembers the last of the great Rosa Luxemburg scholars, Annelies Laschitza, the editor of the German-language Collected Works, who died last week in hospital.
With strong support from employees, manual workers and the self-employed, the gilets jaunes movement has brought together a wide range of different interests. In this interview with Lionel Venturini, Stefano Palombari discusses the 'French crisis' and the difficulty of turning this heterogeneous movement into a new dominant bloc.
Who are the gilets jaunes and what do they want? To answer these questions, a group of sociologists, political scientists and geographers have recently conducted a study of the motivations and socio-demographic profile of the movement. In this article, they present their initial findings.
Giuliana Bruno locates the history of Film in the study of Architecture.
Verso authors share the books they loved in 2018. We hope you'll be inspired to expand your reading lists over the holiday season!
Why make a political arts programme? Juliet Jacques and Tom Overton discuss today's arts broadcasting and left-wing podcast scenes.
The Gilets Jaunes protests have rocked France over the past month, opening up new spaces in contemporary European politics. Yet, the left's reaction to it has either been to passively follow the protests, or to question some of its reactionary articulations. What does this reaction say about the current impasses of left politics, and political strategy today?
With its background in responses to the flurry of reforms that Emmanuel Macron has sought to push through since 2017, the Gilets Jaunes has already become a major political event in Europe. In this article, Cedric Durand looks at the background to the movement, and asks where it might be heading.