France’s ‘yellow vests’ protests are throwback to 1950s

Edition: US - Today's top story: What French populists from the '50s can teach us about the 'yellow vests' roiling Paris today [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 8 December 2018 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Editor's note French police arrested hundreds today after “gilets jaunes” protests, inspired by a now-withdrawn fuel tax, again turned violent. The so-called yellow vests movement and its anti-elite nature echo another tax revolt that took place in France over 60 years ago, writes Charles Hankla, a political scientist at Georgia State who is researching the topic for a book. The 1950s protest, which emerged from a perception that city-dwelling elites weren’t sharing the country’s wealth, speaks directly, Hankla argues, to the [anger of the yellow vests in France]( as well as other populist movements sweeping the world. 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