The protesters hurling rocks at police have become vivid proof of the fury in Europe at leaders who cannot meet the demands of a despairing public.
asserted
who → hurl → public
But the activists are not merely confronting police and political leaders.
asserted
activists → confront → police
They are also at odds with economic reality: unfortunately, every government facing these protests has run out of money to give unhappy voters everything they want.
asserted
they → face → everything
And that is especially true in France, where thousands of protesters took to the streets again on Saturday (Paris time) for another rally over education and the cost of living.
asserted
thousands → take → living
It is also the case in Italy, where protesters marched on Friday, and in Spain, where protesters gathered in Barcelona and other cities.
asserted
protesters → march → Barcelona
Many countries across Europe are suffering from low growth, stagnant wages, high debt and rising costs.
asserted
countries → suffer → growth
While every country has its own trigger for unrest, economic hardship is a common theme.
asserted
hardship → have → unrest
Migration is also a factor in marches that heighten the pressure on social cohesion.
asserted
that → heighten → cohesion
While protesters complain about austerity, most governments are practising the opposite.
asserted
governments → complain → opposite
They are spending more than they can collect in taxes.
asserted
they → spend → taxes
France is the leading example of this pressure.
asserted
France → lead → pressure
Its budget deficit is 5.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and will improve only if the National Assembly can agree on budget reforms, an unlikely prospect when all parties are preparing for elections next year.
asserted
parties → improve → elections
Things are hardly any better in Belgium, where the deficit is 5.2 per cent of GDP and protesters are calling for more spending on schools.
asserted
protesters → call → schools
Political leaders have no easy answer to the angry crowds when their governments have no spare cash.
asserted
governments → have → cash
These facts will not stop the protesters.
asserted
facts → stop → protesters
They do, however, highlight the sense of delusion about endless government spending and debt.
asserted
They → highlight → spending
The fires on the streets of French cities do not light up a path towards a solution, and the challenges will continue regardless of who wins the presidential election next year.
asserted
who → light → election
Another fact is that investors are growing wary of their exposure to European borrowing.
asserted
investors → grow → borrowing
In the week that France made headlines for riots and looting, the yields on its 10-year bonds rose to almost 5.1 per cent – proof that it must pay a bigger interest bill if it wants to keep borrowing.
asserted
it → make → bill
Germany pays 3.4 per cent on its bonds.
asserted
Germany → pay → bonds
Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded France’s outlook from “stable” to “negative” on Friday.
asserted
Fitch → downgrade → Friday
The predictable demand from the rallies is to hike taxes and hit the rich – starting with a 2 per cent tax on wealth over €100 million ($160 million) as proposed by economist Gabriel Zucman.
asserted
demand → hike → Zucman
In France, that might raise €20 billion a year from about 1800 households (assuming they do not move their money to Switzerland).
uncertain
they → raise → Switzerland
This idea was rejected in the National Assembly last year, but even if passed, it would not be enough to fix the woes in France.
asserted
it → reject → France
The contenders for the presidency, such as National Rally leader Marine Le Pen on the right and France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the left, are yet to set out any comprehensive solutions.
asserted
contenders → set → solutions
One key question: How much money can be raised without stifling growth?
asserted
money → raise → growth
Many European countries already have relatively high tax burdens: tax is 43.5 per cent of GDP in France, 42.6 per cent in Belgium, 42.8 per cent in Italy and 36.7 per cent in Spain.
asserted
tax → have → Spain
While all this revenue has funded generous welfare systems for decades, it is still not enough to meet the demands from voters.
asserted
it → fund → voters
The pressure on the social safety net is increasing when growth is lacklustre and family incomes are flat or falling.
asserted
incomes → increase → net
In Spain, where people have taken to the streets over the high cost of housing, household income has at least grown in recent years.
asserted
income → take → years
An index published by the European Union shows a slight gain from 2014 to 2024.
asserted
index → publish → 2024
But the country is now reeling from Wednesday’s train disaster.
asserted
country → reel → disaster
In France, household income per capita has fallen over the decade: the index measure at the European Union is down from 116.6 to 109.1.
asserted
measure → fall → 109.1
Families are not wrong to feel their living standards are shrinking.
asserted
standards → feel → ?
The French economy contracted slightly in the first quarter of this year, grew by just 0.2 per cent in the second quarter and then shrank by 0.1 per cent in the third.
asserted
economy → contract → third
Italy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter and 0.2 per cent in the second.
asserted
Italy → grow → second
Parts of the continent are forging ahead – such as Poland, where living standards have soared since the fall of Communism.
asserted
standards → forge → Communism
And Britain, by the way, is not spared: its national budget last Wednesday confirmed a future of annual deficits, deeper debt, higher welfare spending and lower household incomes.
asserted
budget → spar → deficits
The rioters are seeking to clash with police on other issues.
asserted
rioters → seek → issues
In central Paris, for instance, they unfurled Palestinian and Algerian flags, as reported in this masthead two weeks ago.
asserted
they → unfurl → masthead
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
