The Repression of the Yellow Vests: Police, Judicial, and Legislative Response to an Unprecedented Social Movement

The Yellow Vests movement began in France in the fall of 2018 as a protest against a new gasoline tax but quickly expanded to include various social and democratic issues. This chapter examines the movement's sociological makeup, methods, and demands, focusing on the police and judicial response. The repression was severe, with 5 deaths, 30 injuries, 3,000 convictions, and 4,400 wounded, drawing condemnation from international institutions, NGOs, associations, and journalists. Based on an investigation at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris and an analysis of 445 cases of individuals arrested and detained from November 17, 2018 to February 2, 2019, the chapter analyzes the preventive nature of the repression, highlighting the extensive use of police custody to prevent protests rather than to prosecute demonstrators.