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The ''bonnets rouges'' (red caps) movement began in October, 2013 in Brittany. It was a protest movement, largely targeting a new tax on truck-transport (billed as an "''ecotaxe''" by the government). By means of large demonstrations and direct action, which included the destruction of many highway tax portals, the movement successfully forced the French government to rescind the tax. The new tax was seen as harmful to Breton agriculture, which was already having a difficult time competing with its counterparts in Europe. The wearing of red caps was intended as a reference to the seventeenth century revolt of the papier timbré which was particularly active in Brittany, though the Phrygian cap as a protest symbol goes back much further. == Activity == Hundreds of red-cap-wearing demonstrators protested against the highway tax portal at Pont-de-Buis on 28 October 2013, and during the course of the protest a demonstrator had his hand blown off when he picked up a grenade thrown by law enforcement. Soon after, the French government announced that it would be temporarily suspending the new tax until 2015 at the earliest.〔“(France delays ‘ecotax’ on road transport after protests )” ''MENAFN'' 29 October 2013〕 This did not satisfy the demonstrators, who went on to destroy more than two dozen tax portals, and many smaller radar-camera-like outposts, by the first week of November.〔“(France’s Hollande defies Breton tax protest )” ''Reuters'' 6 November 2013; “(Lorry spy destroyed in green tax protest )” ''The Times'' 6 November 2013〕 These would typically be destroyed by fire, often by filling tires, stacked at their bases, with flammable material and lighting them. Sometimes, less-destructive means were used, such as wrapping the radar cameras in plastic and topping them with ''bonnets rouges'' of their own.〔“(Haut-Doubs: les six radars déguisés en «Bretons» )” ''Le Républicain Lorrain'' 15 November 2013〕 By late November, 46 tax radars and portals had been destroyed, and other anti-tax groups were beginning to try direct action, including farmers and equestrians who snarled traffic in Paris with their tractors and horses.〔“(French horse riders take tax protest on to streets of Paris )” ''The Guardian'' 24 November 2013〕 At the end of November, the movement massed in Carhaix and simultaneously used shipping trucks to blockade highways throughout France.〔“(Bretagne : les Bonnets rouges gagnent le pari de la mobilisation )” ''L’Obs'' 30 November 2013; “(Manifestations anti-écotaxe : la liste des barrages routiers dans toute la France )” ''MYTF1 News'' 29 November 2013〕 At one point the demonstrators held an auction at which they sold off bits and pieces of previously-destroyed road tax portals as souvenirs.〔“(Ecotaxe: les Bonnets ont réussi leur démonstration )” ''Les Echos'' 30 November 2013〕 In an amusing moment, a hundred employees of Ecomouv, the quasi-private company responsible for collecting the new tax, held a holiday party in Metz. Posing for a group photo in front of the company offices in their Santa Claus hats, they were mistaken for a demonstration of the ''bonnets rouges'' by local police, who quickly intervened.〔“(Des salariés d'Ecomouv qui fêtaient Noël pris pour des bonnets rouges )” ''Libération'' 20 December 2013〕 By January, the number of highway tax and radar-ticket machines destroyed had topped 200.〔“(Fronde des Bonnets Rouges : plus de 250 radars vandalisés en trois mois )” ''Network Visio'' 17 January 2014〕 This had the desired effect. In 2013, for the first time since ticket-giving radar cameras had been installed in France, the number of tickets issued by the machines declined.〔“(Radars : en 2013, les automobilistes ont été moins flashés )” ''Le Figaro'' 17 December 2013〕 The government made its first big counterattacks in the Spring. eleven suspected ''bonnets rouges'' were arrested and charged with conspiracy in April.〔“(Radars bretons. Un sur quatre a disparu )” ''Le Télégramme'' 20 April 2014; “(Bonnets Rouges: 11 défèrements devant le procureur de la République )” ''Seizh'' 20 April 2014〕 The following month, the government convicted Samantha Prime of participating in the destruction of a radar outpost.〔“(Samantha Prime, symbole des Bonnets Rouges, va à nouveau comparaître ce lundi à Saint-Malo )” ''France 3 Bretagne'' 18 May 2014〕 Destruction of highway tax portals, however, continued. The eleven conspirators were convicted and sentenced to between four and 18 months imprisonment, along with a total of about €10,000 in fines. The same day the sentences were declared, farmers in Brittany invaded the city of Morlaix, dumped their produce in big piles in the streets, set fire to the tax office, and blockaded the area to keep fire trucks from responding.〔“(French farmers torch tax office in Brittany protest )” ''BBC News'' 20 September 2014〕 In September and October, three other French tax offices were put to the torch, and French tax officials complained of feeling threatened.〔“(Ras-le-bol-fiscal : Quatre perceptions ont brûlé depuis la rentrée )” ''économie matin'' 3 October 2014; “(Les agents des impôts craignent d'être les victimes de la «fronde fiscale» )” ''Le Figaro'' 2 October 2014〕 The French government finally decided, in late October, to abandon the hated tax entirely. The cost to the government was enormous. In addition to the loss of anticipated revenue from the tax (€390 million per year) and the property damage and other costs associated with the demonstrations, the government was required to pay compensation to Ecomouv, the quasi-private company that had contracted to administer the tax, and others — nearly one billion euros in all.〔“(L’abandon de l’écotaxe coûtera près d’un milliard d’euros à l’Etat )” ''Le Monde'' 20 February 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bonnets Rouges」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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