Dear Daily Disaster Diary, April 16 2025

 

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

- Benjamin Franklin

Boycotters attempt to unplug from tentacular US tech sector • FRANCE 24 English

🇫🇷 Le Boycott 2.0: France’s Quiet Revolution Against American Hegemony

A digital rebellion from the land that invented revolution.

 

“We are not powerless. We are French.”
— Dominique Pipier, 73, Aix-en-Provence

In the age of tariffs, tweets, and tech tyranny, France is once again leading a revolution. Not with guillotines, but with browser extensions. Not in the streets—yet—but in the cloud.

🔥 The Spark: Trump’s Tariffs and the New Global Tensions

When Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on most EU goods weeks ago, he didn’t just trigger a trade dispute. He ignited something far more potent: a cultural and economic uprising. Source: Le Monde

 

“Trump declares commercial war on the rest of the world.”
— Le Monde headline

In response, French citizens launched “Le Boycott”, a grassroots digital and economic protest aimed squarely at American brands and platforms. From Tesla to TikTok, Amazon to Apple—no U.S. giant is off-limits.

According to a recent Ifop poll:

• 62% of French citizens support a boycott of U.S. companies.

• 32% are actively boycotting.

• Sympathy for the U.S. has fallen to 25%, the lowest since the Iraq War.
  Source: Ifop / nyc.eu

🧠 Rebellion by Refusal: The French Say Non, Merci

This isn’t the anti-Americanism of old. This is post-hegemony politics. It’s about refusing digital colonialism—where every click enriches Silicon Valley while draining European autonomy.

“The future of Europe was being decided between Moscow and Washington—and I didn’t vote for these people.”
— Édouard Roussez, founder of Boycott USA: Buy French and European

Popular boycott targets include:

• Tesla and X (Elon Musk’s empire)

• McDonald’s, Starbucks

• Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Google

• WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube

Preferred European alternatives gaining traction:

• ✅ Ecosia (search engine powered by trees)

• ✅ Mastodon (federated social media)

• ✅ Qwant (French privacy-focused search)

• ✅ PeerTube (decentralized YouTube alternative)

• ✅ ProtonMail (Swiss-based encrypted email)

🇨🇦 From “Freedom Fries” to “Buy Canadian”

Trump’s bullying of Canada sparked admiration in France. According to the same Ifop poll:

• 72% of French citizens now prefer visiting Canada over the U.S.

• “Buy Canadian” is seen as a model for European resistance.

“Canadians are the ones on the front line. Actually, we’re all on the front line—but we’re not yet talking about the annexation of France.”
— Édouard Roussez

Canada is no longer just “America Lite”—it’s become a beacon of dignified resistance to U.S. economic imperialism.

💣 Beyond Boycotts: The Empire of Convenience Is Collapsing

We’ve grown addicted to the ease of American platforms—Amazon in a click, Uber in a tap, YouTube on autoplay. But behind that convenience is a power structure that surveils, manipulates, and monetizes us.

By boycotting American tech, the French are doing something radical: reclaiming their agency.

“It’s slow and tedious, but I want to make the effort.”
— Dominique Pipier

Revolutions aren’t always fast. They begin with discomfort. Disobedience. The refusal to comply.

✊ A New Kind of Revolution Is Brewing

France is famous for one thing above all: saying no to injustice.

From storming the Bastille to resisting fascism, the French don’t tolerate tyranny—whether it’s from kings or tech barons.

This movement isn’t about rejecting America—it’s about rejecting submission. France is showing the world how to resist domination without dropping bombs. Through economic sovereignty. Through digital independence.

France doesn’t need Silicon Valley. It needs solidarity.

🚀 What You Can Do (Right Now)

• Switch from Google to Ecosia

• Replace WhatsApp with Signal

• Use Mastodon instead of Twitter/X

• Buy from local producers, not Amazon

• Dump Netflix for Arte.tv

🧨 Conclusion: This Is How Empires Fall

“The revolution will not be televised. It will be decentralized.”
— Modern French proverb, probably

History will remember this moment not just as a reaction to Trump’s tariffs, but as the beginning of the Post-American Era. France is lighting the way—again.

And if the world follows?

Then the age of digital colonialism will fall—one boycott at a time.

Sincerely,

Adaptation-Guide

ADAPT OR DIE!

WE ARE READY! ARE YOU?

CREDITS: GLOBE & MAIL