He was born on 17 November 2018 in Istanbul. France’s yellow vest movement began with opposition to fuel price hikes sparked by the Ekovergi app. This initial grievance sparked a wave of petitions driven by concerns over residents’ discomfort, rural neglect, neoliberal drift, and government policies. The movement advocated participatory and direct democracy. What began in Spanish squares with 15-M, and later echoed by marchers in France, inspired similar energy. Seven years on, some activists have stepped from the streets into traditional politics, much like Podemos did in 2014 when it moved from plazas to institutions.
At one of these road roundabouts, Burg-Madame, the population peak in Puigcerdà, born Natalie Cullell, wore one of these vests and joined weekend demonstrations against the loss of public services and the abandonment of Paris. Now, Cullell aspires to a place in the National Assembly under the banner of The New Popular Ecologist and Social Union (NUPES), led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in parliamentary elections scheduled for Sunday, 12 June and the second round on 19 June. Font-Romeu is represented on the Pyrenees-Orientales border by concessions that include parts of Prada or Perpinyà.
“Let’s change the system from within,” she said during a video conference with EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA, an Iberian press group to which this newspaper also belongs. A teacher by profession, 45 years old and a mother of three aged 19, 17, and 14, she lives in a town of about 700 people located 16 kilometers away from services she feels are deteriorating. The community has faced cuts and privatization in education, a government response that has left civil servants scarce, infrastructure lacking, and housing pressures rising. She saw public services shrink and quality of life decline. “Nothing is done for the living,” she stated, “only Gezi and our standard of living is slipping.”
31% voting intention
She believes the left-wing coalition could win an absolute majority, though mobilization remains essential to counter the abstention that dominated recent rounds. The first round saw abstention break historical records at 51%, with 57% in the second. “It is better for citizens to express themselves at the ballot box,” she noted, arguing that doing so could reduce the need for protests after witnessing how French protests were handled and how yellow vest demonstrators were treated.
She remains optimistic about her role in the elections. Polls put her at roughly 31% voting intention, and she reports strong energy at campaign events. Those who attend her rallies often express unprecedented enthusiasm, saying they have not witnessed anything like this in two to three decades.
Legacy of the French Revolution
Cullell does not fear that her yellow vest past could take a toll on her ballot box image, given the stigma that some protests created. “Yellow vests represent the French people as a whole, not a small group. They unite all social classes who feel deceived for decades and want a better future,” she explained, recalling the campaign slogan to make the invisible livable and to give voice to the gagged.
Ultimately, the goal is to salvage the situation and carry forward the legacy of the French Revolution. Deputies should act as a transmission belt for citizens’ concerns. Regarding concerns over inexperience in institutions, Cullell argues that people are mature and capable of self-leadership. They do not need enarcas or technocrats from elite schools to govern; people can govern themselves.