What's Behind the Protests in France and What Happens Next

Transcript of the segment

What BBN said on air. The facts are in the original report: WSJ.

1. Hank LedgerAuthorities say about five hundred fifty thousand people marched across France on Saturday, a hundred ten thousand of them in Paris.

2. Hank LedgerWith me is crisis publicist Tobias Wrenfield. Thanks for being here.

3. Tobias WrenfieldDelighted, Hank. Though I'd say half a million people attended a gathering, and gatherings are how every great movement begins.

4. Hank LedgerLet me ask you about Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who described the Paris crowd as moving calmly.

5. Hank LedgerLocal officials imposed curfews around Place de la République and Les Halles. Were they calm?

6. Tobias WrenfieldExtremely calm. The curfews were a celebration of how calm it was, a sort of lifetime achievement award for the neighborhood.

7. Tobias WrenfieldThis champagne bucket is my evidence.

8. Hank LedgerThe bucket is evidence of what?

9. Tobias WrenfieldOf tone, Hank. Now, the Lyon gathering, twenty thousand people, had a small warm moment at a tourist office.

10. Hank LedgerThe Associated Press says a fire broke out inside that tourist office. A warm moment.

11. Tobias WrenfieldA fire is a very passionate review.

12. Tobias WrenfieldAnd President Macron's vow of an uncompromising response is simply a strong brand voice, which I could improve for a fee.

13. Hank LedgerBut the protests began with students demanding education reforms, and then unions and former Yellow Vests joined over living costs. Is that a brand problem?

14. Tobias WrenfieldIt's a growing audience. Five hundred fifty thousand gatherings, if you count them my way, which I do on the yacht.

15. Hank LedgerSorry, five hundred fifty thousand gatherings?

16. Tobias WrenfieldOne per person. Everybody is their own event now, Hank.

17. Hank LedgerThank you, Tobias. I'll pass that on to Brock: today's forecast is calm, with a curfew.