Amid fears of more violence, France's Macron abandons fuel tax rise

French President Emmanuel Macron has decided against increasing the fuel tax, following several violent protests across the country.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told lawmakers "the tax is now abandoned" in the 2019 budget. Protests against the tax started in November, with violent rioting in Paris last Saturday. Four people have died in the protests, and before Macron scrapped the tax, one of the movement's leaders warned "there will be chaos" if a protest planned for Saturday went ahead.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Larry Ellison: the billionaire’s burgeoning media empire
In the Spotlight Oracle founder’s takeover of traditional and new media companies labelled ‘dangerous for democracy’ by US press watchdog
-
Budget-friendly Alpine escapes: the best ski resorts in Austria
The Week Recommends Expect fewer tourists and plenty of snow in the stunning Austrian Alps
-
Megabatteries are powering up clean energy
Under the radar They can store and release excess energy
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from Louvre
Speed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 years
Speed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Fire
speed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan church
Speed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school mass
Speed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders
speed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived