The level of humour in in the French situation is akin to watching the value of your portfolio drop 90% on-screen. Maybe it will.
As manifestation of some of the same issues facing Italy it is possible to understand at least some of the French problem. I'm certainly not up to speed with most of it but here are some foundations to consider further:
1. France has long applied high tax regimes to cover the public's expectations of service and industry subsidisation..
2. The agriculture sector remains grossly inefficient, heavily subsidised and politically vocal.
3. The public sector is bloated.
4. Employment opportunities for graduates (new and experienced) are limited [pointing to a lack of actual productivity , innovation and economic growth].
5. The banking sector remains squeezed and presents high risk (globally).
And so extremists from both the far right and the far left join as brothers and sisters in arms to torch private cars and businesses and smash priceless art works that personified "The Republic" . To what ends? Exit the EU? Reform the EU? Maybe they don't know. To drop taxes service provision and industry subsidisation must also drop. That would only lead to further riots.
The riots don't come over to me as "spontaneous". Macron has enemies both at home and abroad.
cheers
