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Global Austerity Protesters Hope to 'Take Back Politics Into Their Hands'

© AFP 2023 / Geoffroy Van der Hasselt A protester holds a placard reading 'Exploited people stand up!' as people gather for the general assembly of the Nuit Debout movement in Paris on May 15, 2016
A protester holds a placard reading 'Exploited people stand up!' as people gather for the general assembly of the Nuit Debout movement in Paris on May 15, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Anti-austerity protests represent "a completely different way of doing things politically," Chris MacNeil, a member of the Nuit Debout Glasgow Assembly, told Sputnik, in a nod to the French Nuit Debout (Night Stand) movement.

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In an interview with Sputnik, Chris MacNeil, a member of the Nuit Debout Glasgow Assembly, referred to the French Nuit Debout (Night Stand) movement as a completely different way of doing things politically.

The interview came as thousands of people across the world took part in protests against austerity and other troubling economic and social issues on May 15. The event was organized by the Nuit Debout movement.  The organizers urged people to occupy public places and "take back politics into their hands."

MacNeil, for his part, stressed the significance of conducting such protests which he said in particular say "no" to racism and economic austerity measures.

"The goal is to bring together ordinary people and get them formulate a collective response to a spate to challenges, including racism and austerity," he said.

He also remained upbeat about the potential of the Nuit Debout movement, noting that hundreds of protesters took part in the Scotland protest.

"With the media blackout on the movement, it, however, continues to gain momentum and it is a completely different way of doing things politically," MacNeil pointed out.

In a statement published earlier on the website, the Nuit Debout noted in turn that social, economic and environmental disasters, which occur in different parts of the world, have the same root causes and hence should be resolved with the active participation of the public.

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The organizers want to use Global Debout to arrange protests in order to draw attention to an issue which is important in a specific country or city, be that unemployment, low wages or austerity.

According to the Nuit Debout movement, 130 cities in Europe and throughout the world took part in the May 15 demonstration; the biggest protests were held in France and in Spain.

The Nuit Debout movement was formed after March protests in France, when nearly 400,000 people took part in the demonstrations against new labor reforms, which make the process of firing an employee much easier.

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