Cindy Hubert, RTL reporter, returned to her native village, Saint-Haon-le-Châtelon the Roanne coast, wheree National gathering dominated in the last European elections.
In the fall of 2018, the Roanne region was a major focus of the yellow vest revolt. Christine, one of the local figures of the movement, remembers the euphoria of the beginnings around roundabouts : “I was rather revolted at heart, I told myself that it was something for me, so I went to see it and it was total euphoria.”
“I arrived at the meeting (of the Yellow Vests), she says. First, there were a lot of people and really this feeling of coming together (…) I saw little grannies putting on their yellow vests on their balconies because they couldn’t walk.”
François, almost seventy-year-old at the time, also shares his memories of the Renaissance roundabout: “There were several elderly people in front of fire pits having their eyes pricked out. We still stayed, maybe, how many? Two, three months around roundabouts.”
The situation quickly degenerated
However, the initial hope quickly turned into disillusionment. Christine explains: “No one agrees. There are 500 people at this meeting. And they are on the verge of gutting each other. […] For me, it was a huge disillusionment. “Despite efforts to formalize their grievances, to convey their requests to the MP, concrete results are still awaited.”For me, nothing at all“, she declares with bitterness.
Today, five years after the first demonstrations, the initial anger seems to have given way to resignation. Francis, with a pension of 1,100 euros for two peoplestill has to work to make ends meet.
Christine, for her part, saw her personal situation improve thanks to a professional reconversion. “I gave myself the means to improve my daily life. It’s been years since I voted. Because if it’s to vote for the least worse, no,” she says. Despite the electoral success of the National Rally in the region, neither Christine nor François are turning towards the extremes. “More than anger, I felt resignation in François,” observe Cindy Hubert.
Read more
