<p>This paper examines the discursive articulation and contestation of populist tropes for social movements. Where existing scholarship has regarded populism as a master frame for social movement mobilization, this paper foregrounds the precarity of “the people” in the case of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) in France. To answer the question of how social and political actors (re)produce and challenge meanings about “the people,” we performed a discourse analysis of online news items (<i>N</i> = 100) about the Gilets Jaunes. We identify two oppositional discourses—the destitute working class and the rule-abiding citizen—through which the Gilets Jaunes become a polarized object of public discussion. Our findings suggest that the mobilizing potential of populist tropes can serve not only social movements, but also their political opponents. We conclude by exploring the political implications of the normalization of populist tropes in the context of social movements.</p>