The Daily Bail Brings: Kill the Banks - This Guy Has Style - European Bank Run - 'Revolution is very simple to do nowadays'

Source: The Daily Bail



French Soccer Star Calls for a Run on Banks
By MATTHEW SALTMARSH
New York Times
December 6, 2010

PARIS — A Web-based movement is hoping the words of a former French soccer star are enough to drive a protest against bank bailouts and bonuses, and to hurt financial institutions where it counts: in their deposits.

Two months ago, the former French soccer star Eric Cantona called for a bloodless “revolution” against banks.

Two months ago, the former French soccer star Eric Cantona called for a bloodless “revolution” against banks with a plan to do just that. Since then politicians have frowned and commentators have discussed whether the idea has merit.

On Tuesday, it will become clear whether bank customers are angry enough to act. That is the day depositors in France and beyond have been asked to withdraw their money in protest. While banking chiefs will be watching their tills, most doubt any protest will be widespread.

Mr. Cantona called for the bank protest in an interview with the newspaper Presse Océan in Nantes in October, around the time of strikes and demonstrations in France against the overhaul of the pension system by the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Demonstrating in the street, what does that do?” Mr. Cantona asked. “What’s the system? The system revolves around the banks, so it can be destroyed via the banks.”

“The three million people on the streets with their placards, they go to the bank, they take out their money, and the banks collapse,” he added. “That would be a real revolution. The system would collapse, no weapons, no blood, nothing.”

“They would listen to us in a different way.”

Mr. Cantona’s ideas went viral and Internet and social media campaigns expanded on his call.

One, BankRun 2010 (www.bankrun2010.com), initiated by Géraldine Feuillien, a Belgian screenwriter, and Yann Sarfati, a French actor, sought to coordinate the action and make it global, initially via a Facebook page, and called for savers worldwide to withdraw their money on Dec. 7.

The group’s leaders acknowledge that they have acted independently and say they have not been able to reach Mr. Cantona.

Another group, StopBanque, took up the call. No one knows how many people will join the campaign. StopBanque’s site (stopbanque.blogspot.com) said it had 37,000 people who planned to support the action, 29,000 who might, while 117,000 would not.

Taxed at 74% and playing with fire!