The ‘Rule of Law’ used to be the calling card of Richard Nixon and his henchmen, that led to Kent State and other crimes!
Here is some relevant context for your ‘schadenfreud’ :
Headline: Red and Yellow Vests in joint strike, but can they become joint force?
Tens of thousands of people across France downed tools on Tuesday and marched against President Macron’s policies. The day of strike action was called by the hard left CGT trade union. And for the first time Yellow Vests were among their ranks. Some want more convergence but it won’t be easy.
Several thousand people marched in each of Marseille, Strasbourg, Saint-Nazaire, Montelimar, Toulouse, Rouen and Le Havre, many sporting the red vests of the communist-backed CGT and some wearing the high-vis jackets of the popular Yellow Vests grassroots movement.
In the capital young people carried banners and chanted anti-Capitalist slogans like “prices are rocketing, salaries are stuck in the ground” and “social justice and liberties crushed underfoot”.
There was little disruption to transport services but staff at the emblematic Eiffel Tower, many of whom are on low wages, heeded the call to strike.
Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT union, saw this as proof the day was going well.
“Today is a success, and will spawn others,” he said.
More good news:
Headline: Eurozone hovers on the brink of recession – but Germany pushes for more austerity
Italy and France slid deeper into an economic slump in January as their services sectors began to crumble, pushing the eurozone uncomfortably close to its third recession in a decade.
Chris Williamson from IHS Markit said manufacturing across the currency zone was tipping into recession. “The worst may be yet to come: new orders received by factories are declining at the steepest rate for nearly six years and new business inflows into the service sector have stalled,” he said.
“The deteriorating picture looks broad-based. Italy is in its steepest downturn for over five years. It’s clear that the business environment is at its most challenging since the height of the region’s debt crisis.”
The data point to eurozone growth of just 0.1pc in the first quarter. Orders books contracted in January for the first time since late 2014, even in Germany.
The slightest external shock at this point risks pushing the bloc into a downward spiral where falling confidence and frozen investment feed on each other and cause recessionary forces to spread.
The financial “non-linear” effects of this could be unpredictable and dangerous, yet there is little sign yet of a policy shift to head off this risk.
A looming EU economic crisis, with Germany/Merkel demanding more Austerity, and the alliance between the dreaded ‘Left’ and the ‘Yellow Vests‘ puts your ‘schadenfreud’ where? An answer, in the category of political nihilism?
StephenKMackSD
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