Emmanuel Macron’s plan to end gilets jaunes protests
French president offers €5bn in tax cuts for lower earners but activists rubbish attempts at compromise
French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to quell civil discontent led by the so-called “gilet jaunes” (yellow vests) protesters by promising large tax cuts, higher pensions and civil service reform.
Speaking at a news conference in Paris on Thursday, he said that public order must be restored following months of demonstrations. But despite his apparent olive branch, the French leader also vowed to stay the course with his polarising policies.
The “sometimes violent” nationwide protests have been held every week since November, and were sparked by rises in fuel costs but have “widened to cover a range of grievances over economic inequality”, the BBC reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At the peak of the gilets jaunes unrest - so called because protesters wear fluorescent yellow high-vis jackets - an estimated 285,000 people took to the streets across France.
In his televised addressed, dubbed his “moment of truth” by French media, Macron acknowledged that many French citizens were feeling “anger and impatience for change”, and said he accepted the protesters’ “just demands”.
The country is facing a significant “lack of trust” in the Establishment, he said - an apparent nod to recent opinion polls that show Macron’s approval rating has halved from 60% at his inauguration two years ago to around 30% today.
In a gesture designed to “assuage” the protesters, the president pledged €5bn (£4.3bn) worth of cuts to income tax for those on low or medium incomes, and pension rises for the poorest, CNN reports. And he promised that no more schools or hospitals would be closed during his presidency.
But he also criticised the gilet jaunes demonstrators, saying their campaign had been marred by episodes of anti-Semitic violence, attacks on journalists and homophobia.
Macron insisted that he would not reverse his controversial decision to scrap the country’s wealth tax, a move that helped spark the unrest and earned him the less-than-complimentary nickname of “president of the rich”, says The Guardian.
Instead, he added, he would continue with his project to liberalise the French economy and overhaul its welfare state.
“The transformations that are in progress and the transformations that are essential for our country should not be stopped,” Macron said. “I asked myself, ‘Should we stop everything that was done over the past two years? Did we take a wrong turn?’ I believe quite the opposite.”
One solution to the nation’s problems was for its people to work harder, he argued.
“We must work more,” he said. “France works much less than its neighbours. We need to have a real debate on this.”
According to The Times, a yellow-vest spokesperson has “dismissed his measures as meaningless”, while the opposition Socialist Party said: “Once again, Emmanuel Macron is asking workers to make an effort but at no time is he asking for an effort from people who earn millions.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump says 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico start Feb. 1
Speed Read The tariffs imposed on America's neighbors could drive up US prices and invite retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames diversity, Democrats for DC air tragedy
Speed Read The president suggested that efforts to recruit more diverse air traffic controllers contributed to the deadly air crash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published