The yellow vest protesters are planning a “bank run” and are urging all French citizens to withdraw their euros from the banks.
Protesters say by threatening the financial system they hope to peacefully force the government to pass their reforms.
As one activist Tahz San pointed out on Facebook“If the banks weaken, the state weakens immediately,…it’s elected officials’ worst nightmare.”
He added that the gesture was aimed to “scare this (French) state completely legally and without any violence, yet more effectively than ever expected” throughout the history of the Gilet Jaunes movement.
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If every French person converted 20% of their bank deposits into #Bitcoin (and got a Bitcoin debit card to use for day-2-day stuff), French banks and the government would collapse and a lot of bloodshed could be avoided. #jilletsjaunes #JeSuisSatoshi pic.twitter.com/stKqKHYHWl
— Max Keiser, tweet artist. (@maxkeiser) December 9, 2018
According to Max Keiser, host of RT News’ Keiser Report, even just a 20% asset withdrawal would be enough to collapse the government.
RT reports: Protesters plan to empty their bank accounts on Saturday, withdrawing as much money as possible in a bid to undermine the French banks – if not the euro itself. The plan is to “scare the state legally and without violence,” forcing the government to adopt the movement’s Citizens’ Referendum Initiative, which would allow citizens to propose and vote on new laws.
“We are going to get our bread back…you’re making money with our dough, and we’re fed up,” said protester Maxime Nicolle in a video message shared on YouTube.
A well-coordinated financial action has the potential to bring the French banking system – and by extension the euro – to its knees, as banks always hold only a fraction of the funds the country’s citizens have in their accounts. However, most banks limit ATM withdrawals to a relatively low amount, meaning protesters would have to line up inside the banks to withdraw the rest of their money, giving the state plenty of time to place restrictions on withdrawals – though this would, no doubt, spark further protest.
The financial demonstration is a novel means of circumventing Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s proposed crackdown on “unauthorized protests,” announced earlier this week after a particularly violent weekend of clashes with armed riot police – including an unexpected appearance by boxer Christophe Dettinger. Philippe has promised 80,000 security forces will be deployed for the next protest.
