Fuel tax hikes halted to calm protests
PARIS — The French government on Tuesday announced the suspension of fuel tax increases for six months, in a bid to quell fierce protests which have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.
“No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger,” French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, adding that the anger on the streets “originates from a profound injustice: of not being able to live with dignity from one’s work”.
He added that any future protests should be declared in advance and “take place calmly”.
But it was unclear if the measures would assuage the anger on French streets, with both “yellow vest” leaders and opposition parties saying they were not enough.
The grassroots protest movement in France has unleashed anger that devastated the heart of Paris in weekend riots and revealed a fracture in the country between the haves and have-nots.
Discontent about the rising cost of living among the “little people”, as many protesters call themselves, had been growing, along with a sense of marginalization. The approach of Macron’s fuel tax increases in January, meant to wean the French off fossil fuels, has caused things to snap.
The weekend violence in Paris, in which more than 130 people were injured and over 400 were arrested, was the worst in the country in decades, officials have said.
The protesters said they want to level a playing field that they believe is tipped in favor of the elite and well-off city dwellers.
The fuel tax “was the spark”, said Thierry Paul Valette, a Paris protest coordinator, in an interview.
Demonstrators wearing yellow vests speak with a police officer as they block a road near the oil depot of La Rochelle, southwestern France, on Monday, during a protest against rising oil prices and living costs.
“If it hadn’t been (that), it would have been something else. People want fair fiscal justice. They want social justice,” he said, as well as improved purchasing power.
Members of the nationwide movement call themselves the “yellow vests”, after the fluorescent safety clothing that all French motorists are obliged to keep in their cars.
The movement has no leaders but is trying to organize and choose legitimate representatives to negotiate with the government. An attempt to meet last week with the prime minister failed.
The movement, which organized on social media in October, was initially made up of retirees, the selfemployed, artisans and others having a hard time making ends meet, often from rural France and in their 30s and 40s, said Sorbonne sociologist Jean-Francois Amadieu, an expert in social movements.
As the government braces for a fourth weekend of protests, discontent spread on Monday to ambulance workers and some high schools with students upset about scholastic reforms.
Students across the country disrupted lessons and blocked about 100 high schools on Monday to denounce education reform and support “Yellow Vests” movement.
In Aubervilliers, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, hundreds of young people quit schools and walked out to the street chanting “Macron, Resign”. Scores of them were arrested after they torched a vehicle and set bins on fire, according to state-run radio France Info.
Business affected
Speaking after a meeting with industry groups and business federations affected by the protests, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said sector revenues had been hit by between 15 and 50 percent.
While not providing a precise breakdown, he said small retailers had seen a fall in revenue of between 20 and 40 percent, and the hotel industry was seeing reservations down 15 to 25 percent.
Restaurants, depending on their location, had seen takings collapse by between 20 and 50 percent.
“The impact is severe and ongoing,” he said, emphasizing it was nationwide, although Paris, after riots and looting in some of its most upmarket districts on Saturday was particularly affected.
The ministry was not able to say what sort of impact the unrest would have on gross domestic product, but having hoped for a pickup in the fourth quarter on the back of rising consumer spending, that now appears less likely.