The French grassroots, anti-government Yellow Jackets movement announced a second list of candidates for May’s European Parliament election — just days after key figures left the group’s earlier campaign.
“We have about 40 people with different backgrounds on the list,” Fréderic Ibanez, a group spokesperson, told BFMTV late Wednesday, adding the candidates came from “all over France.” “It’s a very eclectic list, very open. We are trying to remain apolitical on the list,” Ibanez said.
Ibanez did not, however, give the names of any of the candidates, but stressed the leaderless protest group wanted “to change this Europe.”
“There are a lot of things to discuss, that’s why we’re here,” he said, explaining that the movement had decided on five themes — purchasing power, pensions, immigration, social and fiscal justice, and sovereignty — which it hoped would “correspond to what happened at the heart of the demonstrations” in France, which began late last year.
The Yellow Jacket movement — named for the high-visibility vests worn by demonstrators — began in November to protest rising fuel prices and a planned fuel tax, but has since evolved into a broader anti-government movement, reflecting frustration over a range of issues and denting French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval ratings.
The Yellow Jackets unveiled a first list of 10 candidates last week, but have since lost one of those candidates and the campaign chief.