Vested interests

Ireland’s yellow vest movement has failed to draw the crowds or have the impact of France’s gilets jaunes. But as populism grows across Europe, this new wave of protesters should not be dismissed, writes Catherine Healy

Catherine Healy

27th January, 2019

Members of the gilets jaunes shout slogans during a protest against rising oil prices and living costs near the Arc of Triomphe on the Champs Élysées in Paris: the movement has come close to toppling the unpopular government of centrist Emmanuel Macron Pic: Getty

The guard patrolling outside the Department of the Taoiseach on a recent Tuesday sounded incuriously affable when a protester beckoned to him from behind a locked gate. Glenn Miller, a leading member of the self-styled Yellow Vest Ireland movement, had walked up to the pedestrian entrance in a high-vis jacket and jeans, holding up a brown envelope with a list of the group’s demands.

“Howya guard. Do you want to hand this in?”...

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