By Mason Mohon | @mohonofficial

The Yellow Vests protests go on, despite President Macron’s attempts to appease the movement. Gilets Jaunes will stop at nothing less of taking down the French status quo, which, in their eyes, culminates in Macron’s resignation from office.

Over the course of the protests, the French police have put in over 23 million hours of overtime that have yet to be paid, according to a report from Newsweek. This has caused an expected distrust from the police force towards their own government.

A French police union leader Frédéric Lagache explained, “Faced with this irresponsibility [of the government], we are forced to be irresponsible in our actions.”

The combined actions of 3 French police unions have lead to a slowdown in police actions. They have been instructed not to fight back against the protests, and only to respond to real emergencies.

They have stated that this is “Act 1” of their plan, and if their government doesn’t step up to the plate, they will have an Act2 and Act 3 if they feel it is necessary.

A newly proposed French budget would lessen the police budget by $70.8 million, which would only add fuel to the fire. In response, the government offered meager one-time bonuses to police officers willing to continue to subdue the protest, but it is doubtful that it will work.

As the video above shows, police are taking off their helmets to show that they are no longer willing to fight with their fellow citizens.

The protests are expected to go on as long as President Macron puts international economic and environmental priorities above the interests of his own people. As the British economist F.A. Hayek explained, citizens are reluctant to submit to laws which are not designed for their own benefit, but rather the benefits of other nations. Clearly, the Yellow Vests have gone far beyond reluctance.

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