PARIS—By the time I found Remy Buisin, the April 6 protest had been going on for half an hour. The 32-year-old video journalist for the French online publication Brut told me his live broadcast location, but he wasn't yet wearing his neon yellow press band and, given his outfit (a light navy puffer jacket and blue jeans), he immediately blended in with the crowd, which numbered between 57,000 and 400,000 people, depending on whether you believe the police or trade union organizers. Business found me: he shouted my name with a smile on his face before returning to business, instructing a colleague to go shoot at the tail of the march.
Business has become for millions of people around the world That eye in recent protests in France. The demonstrations initially focused on the pension reform proposed by President Emmanuel Macron in January – the main sticking point was a potential increase in the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 – and the early marches were largely made up of trade unionist middle-aged people. However, on 16 March, when the government passed the reform bill without a vote, more than 6,000 people came without formal planning to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. This crowd, mostly under 30, was outraged by what they saw as the government's anti-democratic actions.
Almost every night for the next two weeks, the French gathered in the streets in what the media called “spontaneous” or “wild” protests. “I saw a lot of young people show up,” Bouisinet said, “and a lot more who had never participated in a protest.”
Bouisin's live broadcasts from the front lines of tear-gassed demonstrations lasted up to eight hours and were viewed by 70,000 people. Teltok Brutha at the height of the stream. Over the past month, the publication's TikTok has gained a million subscribers – now 4.2 million – thanks in large part to its streams. (Bizign also broadcasts on Facebook and the Brut app.) And his reach is wide all over the world: fans constantly demand that he speak English, but Bouisinet doesn't know what to say other than that he's broadcasting “live in Paris.”
As we approached the start of the day's demonstration, Businet used one of his two phones (work and personal) to photograph the protesters' signs in support of the protesters. Instagram account Brut. In the half hour we spent together, six fans or colleagues came to say hello, including a volunteer medic who asked Boisin when he would start his broadcast. “Soon, soon,” said Bouisinet, pausing only for a moment.
