2 French 2 Furious

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the protests currently raging in France. They began as a reaction to President Emmanuel Macron’s gas tax hike, but have evolved into a much wider rebuke of his allegedly elitist, out-of-touch presidency. For Elsewhere, they break down the late President George H.W. Bush’s hugely consequential foreign policy legacy — both for good and for ill. Zack advises Macron not to act like a god, Jenn nerds out on Middle East history, and Alex tries his hand at French. Macron wants to increase the price of gas by 30 cents to $7.36 a gallon. France’s economy isn’t doing too hot, as Jenn mentioned. Macron fancies himself as a political centrist, which may explain why he’s berated from across the political spectrum. Macron has proposed many labor reforms, the source of the current controversy. Jenn and Alex note that people in the lower and middle classes don’t like “Macronomics.” Zack still can’t believe Macron compared himself to a god. Macron lambasts his citizens for not understanding why he wants to reform France’s economy, as Zack mentioned. Jenn referenced Alex’s piece with stunning photos of France during the protests. There will likely be a protest on Saturday that could turn more violent, a scary prospect since four people have already died. The riots in Paris are the worst since 1968, per Alex, when French students aimed to change the country’s culture. France said it would back down from the gas tax hike, for now. As Zack noted, some experts have called for a gas tax around the world to incentivize people to stop driving. Here’s a quick guide to former President George H.W. Bush and the Panama invasion, which Alex described. Some historians still criticize the invasion. Jenn talked about the First Gulf War. The State Department has a short history of it. Some people argue the Panama invasion led Bush to use military force against Iraq in Kuwait. Jenn mentioned the amazing fact that the US only needed 100 hours to defeat the Iraqis. Bush didn’t do anything about Saddam Hussein retaliating against Shiites and Kurds that opposed him. Kuwait put Bush’s face on towers to celebrate him after his death. Zack noted that Bush came into office at the tail end of the Cold War. Zack details how Bush proved instrumental in helping Germany to unify after the Cold War. Bush says he wasn’t really into the “vision thing.” Alex disagrees. Germany thought about leaving NATO, but Bush ensured it stayed in the alliance. Angela Merkel, the current German chancellor, attended Bush’s funeral in Washington.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices