French President Emmanuel Macron was to address the nation on the “yellow vest” crisis yesterday, and meet trade unionists and business leaders in search of a way to end protests over proposed fuel tax hikes.
The president was to speak at 7pm GMT, his Elysee office announced — his first public comments after four weeks of nationwide anti-government demonstrations that again turned violent on Saturday in Paris and other cities.
French government officials have said the 40-year-old would announce “immediate and concrete measures” to respond to protesters’ grievances.
Calls have multiplied across the political spectrum for drastic action, with former Macron presidential rival Marine le Pen urging him to “recognize society’s suffering and deliver immediate, very strong responses.”
“It is clear that we underestimated people’s need to make themselves heard,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told Europe 1 radio on Sunday.
French Minister of Finance Bruno le Maire said the weeks of unrest were an “economic catastrophe” for France, causing havoc on the roads and putting off shoppers and tourists in the run-up to Christmas.
The “yellow vests,” clad in the luminous safety jackets carried by law in all French cars, began staging nationwide roadblocks on Nov. 17 in protest against tax hikes raising the price of fuel.
Their demonstrations have since snowballed into a mass movement against Macron, whom protesters accuse of being out of touch with ordinary people in provincial France.
Looting and rioting has repeatedly broken out in Paris, spreading to Bordeaux, Toulouse and other cities.
Authorities said the property damage caused in the capital on Saturday was far worse than a week earlier, with burnt-out cars and broken glass left strewn across several neighborhoods.
About 10,000 protesters had taken to Paris’ streets, where about 8,000 police officers were deployed.
Security forces launched a massive operation in a bid to minimize the unrest, detaining more than 1,000 people and mobilizing armoured cars in Paris for the first time.
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