How the Gilets jaunes movement could spread across Europe

The eminent historian Emmanuel Todd was on the radio in France last week. He had much to say, none of which would have made for easy listening at the Élysée Palace, particularly his warning that Emmanuel Macron is facing a coup d’etat that has been fomenting for years.

Todd believes that fundamental to the rise of the Yellow Vest movement is what happened in 2005. That was the year France, in the words of the Guardian at the time, “decisively rejected the new European constitution”. The ‘non’ votes were 54 per cent (out of an overall turnout of almost 70 per cent) and jubilant campaigners demanded the resignation of Jacques Chirac as they celebrated in the Place de la Bastille. An ashen-faced president admitted the result was a shock but conceded that voters had spoken “democratically” and taken a “sovereign decision”.

Equally stunned was Chirac’s foreign minister, who before the referendum vote had