https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20201201/11530145803/french-legislators-outlaw-discriminating-against-people-because-their-regional-accents.shtml

France's relationship with free speech is strange. On one hand, no one protests like the French protest. Given the nation's predilection for targeted vandalism and guillotine construction, it would seem the government would have taken notice of citizens' right to engage in speech that's right on the edge of targeted violence… all without losing sight of the importance of that speech.

But for every bit of slack cut to protesters, the government still targets the people's freedom to express themselves. This results in more protests and more backtracking, but the country's government is surprisingly resilient. It just shrugs off the latest protests and tries again.