The "Block Everything" movement of September 10th experienced from the Bandol roundabout and Le Muy: Yellow Vest spirit, are you there?

They all thought about it. When they returned to "their" roundabout this Wednesday morning. When they put their vests back on. Just like the first day, without knowing what the day would bring.

In Bandol and Le Muy, strongholds of the Var protests, it's like friends meeting up. Julien, 35, is chatting with "JC," who has become the godfather of one of his sons. "It's the continuation of the Yellow Vests, it's always the same demands ," he lists. "Life is getting more and more expensive. I'm fighting for my children, my family, but it's going to be complicated." He made the trip from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, where he now lives and works. His boss, who runs a Carrefour store, even gave him the day off to do it.

Playing the sound system on the still-damp morning grass, Jean-Christophe, aka "JC," believes that "eight years after the start of the Yellow Vests, [the situation] is even worse. There are nine million people below the poverty line. Do we just sit back and do nothing? They want to hit small pensions and low wages, how long will this last?" In its 2025 report, the Observatory of Inequality establishes that the social divide continues to widen. The poverty rate has increased by 1.5 points in 20 years.

The Bandol toll, from afar

Some hoped they could relive the scenario of November 17, 2018. "Several groups had rallied and converged on the Bandol toll booth," recalls Pierre, a retiree from Six-Fours. "We forced the barriers to open, it was huge." The movement's sudden emergence came as a huge surprise. But on September 10, there was never any question of approaching the toll booth, which was carefully monitored by several police crews.

The fifty or so people mobilized at the so-called Yellow Vest roundabout received loud support from motorists, without swelling their ranks.

Scouts of certain parties

Coming from Saint-Cyr, Sylvie makes no secret of her activism in the French Communist Party. She is at a crossroads, "for the convergence of struggles" , in view of the inter-union meeting on September 18. "Those who get up early no longer have the right to live decently" , she believes.

A Yellow Vest notes the presence of "scouts from certain parties" , "a national order" , he believes, whose ambiguity he measures. "Either they want to enter to create a larger movement, or it's to try to lead it." Being categorized as extreme left, or right, represents, in his eyes, "a classic policy to divide" . Is a large popular movement possible? It is Pierre who answers: "We will not be able to escape it at one time or another. There is too much pure misery."

Direct democracy

In Le Muy, there are about thirty former "yellow vests." At the roundabout near the A8, discussions seem to be picking up where they left off. Purchasing power, direct democracy, and a citizen-initiated referendum. "We want the people to take back their power. Popular sovereignty is what we're demanding. We need to reinstate the Constitution, which gives too much power to the President," explains Nathalie, 55, who is retraining.

The removal of Emmanuel Macron and the establishment of the ^Sixth Republic are what they are demanding. Leaflets are being distributed hand to hand, amid slow traffic.

"Why don't we go to Fort Brégançon?"

Some are ready to spend the day, supported at regular intervals by the sound of horns. "We work much more, for much less money," fumes a Yellow Vest. "Why don't we go to Fort Brégançon too?" quips a pensioner. "The expenses of the Élysée Palace are something," adds her neighbor, also penalized by a low retirement pension.

Both are forced to work to supplement their income and make ends meet. "We're working for our children and grandchildren. We don't know what they'll get later. I have a small pension, but I'm forced to work at 86," Nicole M. says indignantly . "Is this normal in France?"