Who are the Gilets jaunes?

Sammanfattning: This study has two purposes. The first one is to explain in what consists the originality of the Gilets jaunes movement. This is done by comparing it to four earlier French protest movements. It is found that the original feature of the movement is its lack of organization and refusal to take political sides. The second purpose of the study is to explain which societal factors acted as prerequisites for the creation of the movement. This is done by a comparison between letters sent to the President’s office and statements made by the Gilets jaunes in order to show that the anger that the movement incarnates have been present in France for several years. This supposition is later enhanced by a looking at earlier research on French social discontentment. In the end of the study it is shown that reforms made since Emmanuel Macrons arrival to power in May 2017 acted as triggers for the already discontent French population to mobilize within the framework of what came to be the Gilets jaunes movement.