The "feeling of discontent" in France goes far beyond the Yellow Vests protests, which are more like a "Tea Party" populist movement pushing for stagnation and

The "feeling of discontent" in France goes far beyond the Yellow Vests protests, which are more like a "Tea Party" populist movement pushing for stagnation and short-term complacency. The low-productivity fraction of their labor force is essentially shut out of the labor market due to a combination of high taxes + extremely hostile regulatory environment. And no, they can't adopt something sensible like UBI or EITC - not without reforming the way their government is run from the ground up. Which is exactly the sort of reform the "average dudes" that are now powering the Yellow Vests protests don't want. France is FUBAR - "God-Emperor" Macron had been trying to start seriously working on fixing the mess, but he is clearly failing just like his many forerunners.