Pigeons have a troubled history. Some consider them as nothing more than flying rats that spread disease, steal your chips and deface statues. Others appreciate their utilitarian value, as they carried vital messages during the first world war (rest in peace, Cher Ami). The French aristocracy revered pigeons: thus, only noble landowners were permitted to keep the birds. Peasants attempting to construct illegal pigeon towers, known as pigeonniers, were ordered to demolish them and were forbidden by law from killing pigeons. Hence, pigeons owned by the nobility were allowed to roam freely into peasant fields, destroying their crops. Food shortages ensued as their harvest diminished while Louis XVI grew fat at Versailles. On 14 July, 1789, an angry mob stormed the Bastille, sparking the French Revolution. Shortly after, the National Assembly abolished feudalism and allowed peasants to shoot pigeons on their land.

The French love a riot. In fact, I think they are having one now, as I type. A vote of no confidence has ousted François Bayrou, the Fifth Republic’s fourth prime minister in two years, over his planned budgetary reforms, a €44-billion plan to reduce the deficit. The ‘Block Everything’ movement, led primarily by young people, has taken to the streets, disrupting highways and setting fire to bins and vehicles, all in a bid to push for a halt to President Emmanuel Macron’s neo-liberal reforms. There’s no compromise in the country of Robespierre. It seems these stubborn Gallic activists aren’t moving an inch, like a Frenchman living contentedly next to a bustling brothel.

My point? Revolutions generally occur when a nation’s citizens are deprived of necessities. In many ways, Gen Z resembles pigeons.

There are several parallels between them and their feathered counterparts. An enraged bunch of PC babies, like a flock of pigeons, will ruin statues and shoplift. They may not be spreading diseases since they seem to have adopted the rather new wholesome pastime of shagging robots. Despite being an odd species, constantly staring at their screens and speaking in that foul simulacrum of English, they may be the only other animals capable of igniting a revolution.

Spare a thought for KP Sharma Oli. The prime minister of Nepal learned what happens when you deprive people of the most important thing in the world: the internet. While he did not suffer the same public humiliation as Louis XVI, he was emasculated in a different and less decapitating way. Oli resigned this week after nationwide protests sparked by a social media ban erupted into chaos and bloodshed. Thousands of people carrying placards identifying themselves as Gen Z took to the streets of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and attempted to scale the parliament’s walls. Hundreds of people were injured in clashes with police, who used water cannons and live rounds to restore order and control. A total of seventy-two people have reportedly been killed in what is the Himalayan nation’s worst and deadliest outbreak of protests in nearly 20 years.

In response to the police action protesters ransacked government buildings in Kathmandu, set fire to the country’s parliamentary building, which is home to the Nepali Congress party, and attacked state institutions in the city. Several prominent politicians’ residences were also targeted. Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, the wife of former Nepalese premier Jhalanath Khanal, was killed after rioters set fire to their home. Following days of unrest, Nepal’s military chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel sent troops to the capital, vowing to ‘take control of the situation’.

The protests were sparked by the government’s decision to implement a nationwide blanket ban on 26 social media platforms, a vital source of networking and communication for roughly 40 per cent of Nepal under the age of 18. Nepal has one of the highest per capita rates of social media use in South Asia. It also provides a living – the social media economy is worth $26.5 million. These platforms are also used by dissidents and political opponents, including Balendra Shah, who the Nepalese youth describe as ‘Gen Z’s great hope’. ‘Balen’, as he is known online, is a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician who regularly uses his social media reach to highlight the widespread allegations of corruption among politicians.

Naturally, the social media ban was seen as the state clamping down on free expression, crushing dissent and silencing the opposition, igniting a broader populist movement against the ruling elite. ‘We want to see an end to corruption in Nepal,’ one 19-year-old college student told BBC Nepali. Another reinforced the frustration: ‘Gen Z will not stop now. This protest is about more than just social media – it’s about silencing our voices, and we won’t let that happen.’

It shares similarities with recent uprisings in South Asia. In Sri Lanka, the Populist movement was defined by allegations of nepotism and corruption against President Gotabaya Rajapaska. Rajapaska’s green ideological capture resulted in a restriction on the import of artificial fertiliser, causing rice crop yields to decrease 30 per cent and forcing the government to spend $450 million importing enough rice to meet demand after its price fell 50 per cent. Thousands stormed the capital, Colombo, and burned down the ceremonial palace.

Unfortunately, there appears to be a global consensus on keeping kids off the internet. Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, and, of course, France are all testing an age-verification app, paving the way for a mandatory EU-wide implementation. Even the United States is considering a federal Kids Online Safety Act, which has been introduced with bipartisan support. Other countries have already done this. Britain’s Online Safety Act is the latest in a long line of state-approved censorship. Other notable countries include Ireland and, of course, the eSafety Commissioner’s imminent ban here in Australia, legislated with Coalition support.

In Nepal, the ban has now been lifted;  all it took were charred buildings and scores of bodies lining the streets. Although I doubt Australia’s youth would man the barricades, it’s a powerful and tragic story of what happens when you try to silence people as the elite live in opulence and enrich themselves at the expense of the common man.

Pigeons: bottom of the food chain, but they survive…