As media organizations and Paris try to link the Yellow Vest rallies to Moscow, analysts tell RT that the demonstrations have nothing to do with Russia, and suggesting otherwise is an insult to the protesters and their cause.
Speaking to RT just one day after leaked messages revealed that a BBC journalist tried to find any trace of Russian involvement in the Yellow Vest protest, political analyst John Wight said the idea that Russia is behind everything happening in the West “is preposterous and it’s also an insult to the masses of the people who are expressing their anger and resistance” in France and elsewhere.
He went on to explain that the real reason people have hit the streets of France in huge numbers has nothing to do with Russia and everything to do with the French government.
“Policies have left over 8 million people in France living in poverty in 2018, 9 percent unemployment, cuts to pensions, cuts to welfare benefits, and tax cuts for the rich…
That’s got nothing to do with Russia, these people don’t live in Russia, they’re dealing with the real world consequences of their government’s policies.”
Journalist Neil Clark agreed, telling RT that the Yellow Vest protests are “organic” and “grew up in the streets of France.”
He added that people are simply fed up with President Emmanuel Macron. “These are bread-and-butter issues, people are complaining about tax rises, living standards falling or stagnating, and Russia has nothing to do with it.”
And despite the leaks that implicate that the BBC was out to place blame on Russia, Clark noted that the news outlet is just one small part of a wider media landscape trying to do the exact same thing.
“Yes, we can look at the BBC but I’m pretty sure that every other major news organization in the West is trying to find a Russian angle to this because that’s the narrative.”
It is indeed true that the BBC isn’t the only one pointing the finger at Russia without any basis whatsoever. Citing a vague so-called “analysis,” The Times reported that social media accounts supposedly linked to Russia have “sought to amplify” the Yellow Vest protests.
Bloomberg even went so far as to slam RT for “covering the French crisis closely” – also known as doing the job of a news outlet.
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