The social phenomenon of the Yellow Vests has been the subject of much ink but have we really listened to the actors as close as possible to the field? Here is what Sandrine Kerion proposes in Mon rond-point dans ta gueule.
The portrait of the Yellow Vests
On November 17, 2018, the movement of yellow vests begins and shakes the country. The France is blocked and the roundabouts are occupied by thousands of individuals with diverse backgrounds but motivated by a common feeling of exclusion but this movement intrigues or shocks. Sandrine Kerion dedicates the book to those who do not understand. My roundabout in your mouth wants to get out of the image forged by the media to transcribe as closely as possible the hopes of the Yellow Vests. This cry of anger does not come from nowhere but this logical reaction responds to the decline of the middle and popular classes. The author also shows the local, Breton causes of movement development. There are trades essential to the life of the country but totally despised: service to the person, construction … This book describes the different demands: inflation, rising oil prices, glaring inequalities, a democracy that has lost its meaning… The author explains the refusal of hierarchy and representation despite the emergence of a leader. At the beginning of the book, Kerion illuminates these demands with interventions by economists and reactions of politicians between recuperation, contempt and misunderstanding. Yellow Vests are also politically engaged before the movement and politically analyze the situation. The book is not, however, a naïve apology for the movement. If it shows police violence, it does not deny certain illegal acts of the Yellow Vests. It shows the complexity of the relationship to violence far from the savagery presented in the media.
The word of the rebels
Sandrine Kerion had already seduced the editorial staff of Justfocus with her intimate story about extraterrestrials in J'ai vu les soucoupes also published in La Boîte à Bulles. Here she broadens her gaze by proposing to portray the social movement of the Yellow Vests. After a presentation of the context, she creates a mosaic from several interviews that best captures the reality and complexity of this movement. Sandrine Kerion, who participated in the movement, does not judge them but listens to them. She also puts herself on stage. Several chapters end with a poem by a Yellow Vest. Rather than offering a global analysis, it paints portraits of several protesters. In an emergency, she begins by taking notes on her loved ones and then the Yellow Vests met on the roundabouts of the Côtes d'Armor. Dany discovers commitment during the movement. Through his testimony, the reader is shocked by the methods of the police using massive gas and disproportionate violence. Published after the movement, the author can thus show the long-term effects of this movement. Dany now wants to get involved locally as well as concretely through a more citizen consumption. Some broke up with their old friends while others brought their families back to the protests. Sandrine Kerion finds her style so particular seen in I saw in the saucers. She uses only one color for most drawings but keeps another to highlight an element. Logically, it is the yellow here that is found on vests, hats and even hair. If her trait is realistic, she does not hesitate to come out if necessary like these businessmen with pig heads. At the same time scriptwriter, artist, colorist, Sandrine Kerion makes Mon rond-point dans ta gueule a vibrant testimony of the interior of the Yellow Vests. We discover the diversity of the courses but the same frustration, the same feeling of relegation. Reading the various interviews plunges into the past of the movement but also makes us think about the future: what everyone can do to improve a situation that has not changed since 2018. If you like social chronicles, you can discover Le zizi de l'ange and # J'accuse…!
