The Territory of the gilets jaunes

Pierre C. Boyer (1, 2, 3) , Thomas Delemotte (2, 4, 1) , Germain Gauthier (2, 3, 1) , Vincent Rollet (3) , Benoît Schmutz (2, 3, 1)

1 IPP - Institut des politiques publiques
2 CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique
3 X - École polytechnique
4 ENSAE - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Economique

Where did the “gilets jaunes” protest movement come from? From its first Saturday of action in November 2018, the movement was distinctive for both its local character and its national coverage. Relying on novel Facebook data, we show that there is a strong correlation between online mobilisation (on Facebook) and offline mobilisation (blockading of roundabouts), and offer a fine-grained and contrasted mapping of the data, at the scale of départements and commuting zones. By simultaneously controlling for the different political, economic and geographical factors likely to explain the movement’s genesis, we reveal the signicant role played by mobility issues, particularly the speed limit reduction to 80 km/h on secondary roads and commuting distances..

Domaines: Economies et finances

Pierre C. Boyer, Thomas Delemotte, Germain Gauthier, Vincent Rollet, Benoît Schmutz. The Territory of the gilets jaunes. 2019. ⟨halshs-02520762⟩