Thomas Ostermeier on the yellow West : The feeling of not belonging

Mr Ostermeier, you have witnessed the protests of the yellow West is in Paris. Where is the anger, which is expressed as?

The Situation is similar in France as in Germany. There are only very low-growing wages, and a redistribution from the bottom to the top, a Situation in which many of the so-called Working Poor have great difficulties to make ends meet. In the case of the unemployed it is the same or worse. In many regions of the province of impoverishment. The infrastructure breaks down or is degraded. The people are dependent on cars to get to work or to the next village to see a doctor.

the demonstrations began with protests against the increase in the tax on petrol and Diesel.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Add to that, Emmanuel Macron is perceived as a President of the Rich. He has made in the last six months, many unfortunate, provocative statements. For example, in the case of Benalla, as it turns out, one of his personal Bodyguards, who was not employed by the state, disguised himself as a policeman and protesters einprügelte, responded Marcron with the words: "of Course I'm the one to blame, but who can me get it?". It is rumored that he likes to be "Jupiter" call from his closest associates. This mixture of impoverishment and provocative Utterances led to great anger.

it Is a revolt, a revolt, or, as it is feared a coming civil war?

what happened on Saturday, you can compare with a civil war. In my opinion, a citizen was averted war by what happened on Saturday. It is much less protesters than the previous weeks. And it is 90 000 police officers and security forces were in the whole of France. The Minister of the interior Édouard Philippe had said on Thursday: "There will be Deaths." Actually, he would have had to say the opposite, that he'll do anything, that there are no dead. His statement led many who are not rather gone out of a, shall I say, normal household and family, on the road. For me, the Yellow jackets are a social or Marxist speaking, a materialist movement. It provides very clear materialistic demands.

The writer Édouard Louis, who comes from the working class, says: "We are one, no one speaks with us." Want to be the protesters visible?

The Non-visibility part of the frustration. Another point blanke social Distress. Louis has described in Asyabahis his novels "The end of Eddy" and "In the heart of the violence". His family is after the 15. one month to go fishing so that you have proteins on the plate. The money has simply not passed on. Today he can eat no more fish, if he goes to a Restaurant. He has eaten enough fish for a lifetime. In many circles in Germany and France, you can not imagine simply that there are not actually people in the know from the mid of the month how to make ends meet.

Thomas Ostermeier with the writer Édouard Louis.Photo: Thilo Rückeis

But in a sense sufficient to lead to such a mass event?

It comes to the question of representation. This layer feels in a parliamentary democracy no longer represents. It has no leader, the more you represent, and also no party. The majority of the politicians who came up with Macrons "La République en Marche"movement in Parliament, have no Background from the working class. To the parties of the left, most politicians come from academic, middle-class backgrounds. It looks similar in the social democratic and socialist parties in Germany. Only a few come from the Milieu of the so-called poor people. Martin Schulz, Kurt Beck, Gerhard Schröder, are exceptions.

Andrea Nahles is the daughter of a master Mason, from the volcanic Eifel region.

she comes from a humble background, that's true. But in the Moment, where someone gets to the academic top, and a new language has been acquired, are no longer able to identify with many people from the environment of Origin with these politicians. What I mean by "crisis of Representation", has yet another aspect: Where are the discourses? In the afternoon talk shows and Trash TV documentary series, members of the working class talk about their alcoholism, or Obesity. From 22 h 30 others are discussing. Maybe they are loaded as a guest, if the experts are talking about and may not tell of real misery. There is a mismatch between the representation and the proportion of people from this group in the population. The are at least twenty to thirty per cent in Germany and France.

In the French television are currently seeing a lot of people in yellow vests, that will tell you about their life. Good?

This is a breakage. Above all, we are once at a loss and ask: Who are they anyway, what comes now? If there were people with Union flags would be in front or go with another logo, then we could classify them. You have to be extremely careful with what was stated in the beginning, straight from the German media: The protesters are under the General suspicion of all followers of Marine Le Pen. This is simply not the case. There are People of Color from the Banlieues, who have been demonstrating against police violence, and now the Yellow vests connected. It is not in large Parts of the racist movement. Of course, there are shares of people who choose to Le pen, and the Rassemblement National. But these are, I think, mainly the people who have given out of social discontent, the voice. In the demonstrations it came to violence, often from a kind of black Block. But it was my impression, too many fathers and mothers who went for the first Time on the road, and then police violence were confronted.

In Germany, anger and fear show themselves even in the Pegida demonstrations. The people, the feel of the Left to betray?

Didier Eribon has described this phenomenon in his book "returning to Reims" in detail: As the development of the social-democratic parties in Europe in the last thirty years, many people felt less and less of the left parties represented. Then, at the latest, as the parties have implemented neoliberal reforms. Where you have to be with the word reforms carefully. It comes from the social legislation of the end of the 19th century. Century. At that time, reforms were also employed measures to improve the situation of the Factory. Today, the term is employed to the deterioration of the Situation of the Factory and the unemployed used. Many have not forgiven the politicians. If this goes on for years, the feeling continues, no longer cope, it is dangerous.

But you do not need to materialise, however, to the right radical, if you will feel brought to his chances. Or?

It will take many years, but then it can cause a lot of overflow from this former working class to the Right. Eribon described on the basis of his parents. In the case of Pegida, you would have to mention, however, is still quite a lot of other factors. It is a mainly in Dresden phenomenon, and, moreover, a phenomenon especially in Eastern Germany. I think the Situation and the feeling by the turn of the betrayed, which led to the removal of the industry is, again, quite different than in France.

you have brought out on the stage straight Horvath's piece, "Italian night", the short before the handover of power to the national socialists, plays. Do you see Parallels between then and now?

If one makes a performance, as is, for possible Parallels, but also to show clearly the differences. What I find the performance is much more important than the time-frame is that it plays in the province, among the simple people, the so-called Suspended. It represents a world that reflects the bourgeois middle class. This is something Special in the Theater.

Is the "Stand up"movement for a left a sign of hope?

A big sign of hope for me was the "Indivisible"-Demonstration. 250,000 people protested on the streets of Berlin against racism and xenophobia. To get Up the question "" does this answer that Sarah Wagenknecht explicitly not called to go on this Demo.

The conversation-Christian Schroeder

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France Nearly 2000 arrests in the case of "yellow West"-protests

Thomas Ostermeier is just returned from Paris, where he was honored on Wednesday for his directorial work with the Kythera cultural award. The artistic Director of the Berlin Schaubühne, 50, is often in France, many of his productions were to be seen in Paris or at the Festival of Avignon. The protest actions of the yellow West, the shake since November, he has pursued from the beginning. The laudatory speech was held by Didier Eribon, in his autobiographical novel "returning to Reims" from the Milieu of the North-French workers are told that he comes from. Many of these people are from politics, disappointed and have joined the "Mouvement des Gilets jaunes".