Éric Drouet
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Éric Drouet is a French political
activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
who is one of the leading figures of the
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
Yellow Vests Movement The yellow vests protests or yellow-jacket protests (, ) were a series of Populism, populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018 and ended on 28 June 2020. Some minor protests started again after the restriction ...
that began in France in November 2018. He is a former presidential candidate from the 2022 presidential election, and he has been a controversial figure, drawing accusations of calling for insurrection against the French government.


Biography


Personal background

In 2019, Éric Drouet lived in
Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
, in
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
, with his wife and their daughter. He worked as a
truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
, was a full-time employee, and an active member of the
mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...
association the “Muster Crew.”


Yellow Vests Movement


Leading the Protests

In late October 2018, Éric Drouet called for a gathering of motorists on the
Boulevard Périphérique The Boulevard Périphérique (), often called the Périph, is a limited-access dual-carriageway ring road in Paris, France. With a few exceptions (see '' Structure and Layout''), it is situated along Paris's administrative limit. The spee ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to protest against the increase in the fuel tax, which was enacted by the government to support the
energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...
as part of France's commitments under the
Paris Climate Accord The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, Climate change adaptation, adaptation, and Climate ...
. This call led to the launch of the
Yellow Vests Movement The yellow vests protests or yellow-jacket protests (, ) were a series of Populism, populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018 and ended on 28 June 2020. Some minor protests started again after the restriction ...
on November 17, 2018, and Drouet was subsequently portrayed in the media as one of the movement's main founders. This event gave him, along with figures like Priscillia Ludosky and Maxime Nicolle, a notable media presence within the movement. In 2020, his role as a leader of the social movement was not recognized by the courts for two demonstrations. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled that he might have simply relayed information without being the organizer of the gatherings.


Influence on Social Media

Éric Drouet regularly communicates via Facebook live videos with members of the
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
group ''La France en colère'', which he manages with his mother. He shares frequent discussions in this group about organizing demonstrations with fellow Yellow Vest Jérôme Rodrigues. With 300,000 members in early February 2019, ''La France en colère'' is one of the largest online protest groups in terms of membership. Due to its capacity to disseminate information about the movement, this group is often considered the main mobilization channel in the Yellow Vest Movement. Often presented as one of the leaders of the Yellow Vests, Drouet rejects this label and advocates for the movement's horizontal organization, which relies on decision-making by participants, particularly through online consultations via the ''La France en colère'' group. Nevertheless, on November 28, 2018, he represented the Yellow Vests Movement, alongside Priscillia Ludosky, during a meeting with the Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition,
François de Rugy François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...
. Around Éric Drouet, a group of several individuals has formed, who are also considered key figures of the movement or who support him in organizing and planning actions: Jérôme Rodrigues, Farouk Largo, Laëtitia Dewalle (who has been portrayed by the media as a co-initiator of the movement from the start), François Boulo, a lawyer from
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, as well as Maxime Nicolle and Priscillia Ludosky, with whom he often coordinates actions. On the night of March 19, 2019, his home and vehicle were vandalized, notably with yellow paint.


Withdrawal from the Movement and Presidential Candidacy

In a video posted on January 24, 2020, Éric Drouet announced his withdrawal from the Yellow Vests Movement, stating that "putting oneself forward causes more problems than anything else." As of September 2020, he still managed the Facebook group ''La France en colère'', which had more than 300,000 members. In October 2020, he announced his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election "independent of any party." He positioned himself as the spokesperson for a citizen movement aiming "to bring ideas back." He claimed inspiration from
Coluche Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian, cinema actor, activist and philanthropist. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he ...
and intended to campaign primarily on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
. His political platform included lowering the salaries of elected officials, instituting a
citizens' initiative referendum The Référendum d'initiative Citoyenne (abbreviated RIC) is the name given to the proposal for a constitutional amendment in France to permit consultation of the citizenry by referendum concerning the proposition or abrogation of laws, the revoca ...
(RIC), and bringing the people closer to political power.


Political stances

Éric Drouet claims to be unaffiliated with any political party. Some media outlets have portrayed him as sympathetic to the right-wing populist
National Rally The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...
(RN, now FN) or the eco-socialist
La France Insoumise La France Insoumise (LFI or FI; , ) is a left-wing political party in France. It was launched in 2016 by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former co-president of the Left Party (PG). It aims to implement th ...
(FI), but he denies having voted in the
2017 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 23 April and 7 May 2017. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS) was eligible to run for a second term, but declared on 1 December 2016 that he wo ...
for
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
FN candidate
Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...
, countering a false claim made by the commentator Jean-Michel Aphatie. On December 4, 2018, he was criticized for a statement with "xenophobic undertones" in response to comments made by Maxime Nicolle, another figure of the movement, about the Marrakech Pact.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who has been the ''de facto'' leader of La France Insoumise (LFI) since it was established in 2016. He was the Deputy (France), deputy in the National Assembly ( ...
paid tribute to him on his Facebook page on December 31, 2018. Drouet later claimed to have been approached by RN and FI to appear on their lists for the
European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...
, which he declined.


Legal issues

On December 22, 2018, he was arrested in Paris carrying a "
baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...
" in his bag, which led to his being summoned to appear before the correctional court on June 5, 2019, for “participation in a group formed with a view to committing violence” and “carrying a category D prohibited weapon.” When questioned about the “prohibited weapon,” he responded: "As a truck driver, we all have something to defend ourselves, to protect ourselves. It was in my work bag, with my lunch, and I had forgotten it was there. This stick was a keepsake from my father." On September 4, 2019, he was acquitted of the first charge, as the court deemed that his arrest had created a climate of violence, but he was fined €500 ( USD) and suspended for carrying a prohibited weapon. He appealed this conviction and was acquitted in September 2020. He was again arrested on January 3, 2019, and placed in custody after initiating a gathering on the
Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...
, to pay tribute to those he considered victims of
police violence Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
during public order operations at Yellow Vests demonstrations. He was tried on February 15, 2019, for "organizing a demonstration without prior declaration." Following this arrest in January 2019, controversy arose over whether Drouet had deliberately organized the event on the Champs-Élysées and broken the law to get arrested and create a media sensation; he appeared to acknowledge this in a video posted and then deleted on January 3, 2019. On March 29, 2019, Drouet was fined €2000 ( USD), including €500 ( USD) suspended, for allegedly organizing—though he disputes this—the unauthorized demonstrations of December 22, 2018, and January 2, 2019. Ultimately, Drouet was acquitted in September 2020 on appeal. That same year, he was sentenced to five months of imprisonment for hitting his 13-year-old stepson during a dispute with his mother. His grandson was granted four days of leave from work on grounds of incapacity. Drouet admitted to these allegations, while asserting that he values the respect of children for their parents.


Criticism and controversies


Insurrectional intentions

On December 5, 2018, he stated on
BFM TV BFM TV (, stylized as BFMTV) is a French news broadcast television and radio network, wholly owned by RMC BFM. The flagship property of the RMC BFM division of CMA CGM, its headquarters are located in Paris. As the country's most-watched new ...
that he was ready to “enter he Élysée Palace">Élysée_Palace.html" ;"title="he
he Élysée Palace” widely interpreted as a call to forcibly take the Élysée Palace">seat of the Presidency of the Republic, which he denied, saying, "I see what is being said about me on TV, that I am an Anarchism">anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
or something like that. I want to clarify: I never said I wanted to go to the Élysée to break everything, but to make ourselves heard." On January 26, 2019, he relayed a statement calling for a “call to insurrection” following the injury of Jérôme Rodrigues, who lost an eye during a Yellow Vest demonstration in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
that same day. This call was criticized by Christophe Castaner, the Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Interior, who viewed it as an incitement to insurrection.


Relationship with the media

Éric Drouet was initially a guest on several traditional media outlets, but, contesting their objectivity in covering the movement, he broke off most of his contacts, particularly with France Info as of November 2018, preferring appearances on Brut, RT, and with controversial journalist Vincent Lapierre. However, on January 30, 2019, he appeared on the show ''Les Grandes Gueules'', broadcast on RMC and
RMC Story RMC Story, formerly known as Numéro 23 and initially as TVous La télédiversité, is a French independent TV television channel founded by Diversité TV France. It launched its broadcasts on 12 December 2012 and is the 23rd national television ...
.


Tensions with other Yellow Vests Movement personalities

Several times, members and “figures” of the movement opposed Éric Drouet's positions. In January 2019, Priscillia Ludosky announced she would cut ties with him, before resuming cooperation in early February. According to
Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
, Drouet was part of the “radical faction,” those who wanted to go further, for example, by protesting at night to wear out the police, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the government. In late January 2019, these “hardliners” disagreed with the moderates on the future direction of the protest movement.


Fundraising for the injured

In early January 2019, Éric Drouet launched a
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
fundraiser to raise donations for those injured during the Yellow Vests demonstrations. This initiative was criticized by other members of the movement, who questioned how the collected money would be distributed.


Spelling

Éric Drouet is often criticized and mocked for the many spelling and grammatical errors in the messages he posts on Facebook. These jibes are viewed by journalist Vincent Glad as an expression of “social contempt” aimed at “excluding the working classes from the legitimate political space.” Consequently, according to
University of Lorraine The University of Lorraine (), abbreviated as UL, is a public research university based in Lorraine, Grand Est region, France. It was created on 1 January 2012, by the merger of Henri Poincaré University, Nancy 2 University, Paul Verlaine Un ...
lecturer Christophe Benzitoun, readers adopt two different attitudes: "There are social groups that do not mind. On the other hand, other groups will find the message unreadable and refuse to read it all the way through."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drouet, Éric Yellow vests protests French activists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people