FRANCE EXPLODING – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  And there seems to be so little interest here.  Not only is France getting wobbly, but this unrest can easily spread to other economically troubled European countries.  Western Europe, which loves to lecture America, is in no position to lecture anyone.  From Britain's Express: 

The yellow vest protests in the French capital escalated on Saturday with protesters firing tear gas canisters against police officers and holding up banners calling for France to leave the European Union. More than 400 people have already been arrested with thousands of protesters breaking police barriers to inundate the streets of Paris. The so-called gilets jaunes have been protesting against French President Emmanuel Macon's policies for the fourth weekend in a row.

8,000 officers and 12 armoured vehicles sent into Paris today as more than 1,000 people gathered in the city centre.

Protesters met at the Champs-Elysées and marched to a police cordon before stopping.

This is now the fourth weekend of protests, with last week seeing hundreds of people arrested and many injured on the streets.

Ministers have said the protests have been hijacked by “ultra-violent” protestors as four have died and hundreds more have been injured.

Despite the violence, the movement has garnered support from the French people, with 77 percent justifying the protests according to French news site Le Figaro.

That is an incredible figure.

The government have since said it is scrapping the fuel increases and has frozen electricity and gas prices for 2019.

However, protests have erupted over other issues, such as the need for higher wages, lower taxes, easier university requirements, better pensions and even President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation.

Protester Claude Rigolet told the BBC: "Everything is more expensive. Taxes are going up - housing, heating costs, cars. Everything is going up."

Protesters have organised themselves via social media, declaring this weekend as "Act IV" in a dramatic opposition to Macron’s policies.

The French President popularity rating plummeted to a new low of 23 percent in November - down by a massive six percentage points from October.

Despite the French President performing a U-turn against raising fuel taxes, another massive wave of violence hit the whole country on Saturday.

Arnaud Touati, co-founder of Paris-based law firm Alto Avocats, warned the damage done to France so far has been “devastating”.

He said: “Undoubtedly, we underestimate the considerable damage that this type of event has caused to France's reputation.

COMMENT:  Reputation is only a part of it.  Western Europe, where pomposity combines with weakness to produce a dangerous mix, will increasingly be seen as a region of the past unless it can solve its basic problems.  Why do I think those problems can best be solved by the nations themselves, without the heavy hand of the centralized European Union guiding them?

December 8,  2018