Paris riots: French PM freezes fuel tax hikes
PARIS: The French government suspended fuel tax and utility hikes on Tuesday, a major U-turn in an effort to appease a protest movement that sparked large-scale rioting in Paris last weekend.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made the announcement in a live televised address three days after the worst unrest on the streets of Paris in decades.
Philippe back-pedalled on the planned increase, which was set to be introduced in January and is now postponed until the summer.
“No tax is worth putting the nation’s unity in danger,” said Philippe, just three weeks after insisting that the government wouldn’t change course and remained determined to help wean French consumers off polluting fossils fuels.
More than 100 people were injured in the French capital and 412 arrested over the weekend in Paris, with dozens of cars torched.
Shops were looted and cars torched in plush neighborhoods around the famed Champs-elysees Avenue.
The Arc de Triomphe, which is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was visited by world leaders last month to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1, was sprayed with graffiti and vandalized inside.
“This violence must end,” Philippe said.
Philippe also announced that electricity and natural gas prices will be frozen until May 2019 in a move aimed at improving spending power.
Philippe’s surprise announcement is unlikely to put an end to the road blockades and demonstrations, though, with more possible protests this weekend in Paris.
A football match between Paris Saint-germain and Montpellier that was scheduled for Saturday in Paris was postponed after police said they couldn’t guarantee security amid expected protests in the capital.
“If another day of protests takes place, it should be authorised and should take place in calm,” Philippe said.
On Tuesday, protesters in Paris kept blocking several fuel depots. “It’s a first step, but we will not settle for a crumb,” said Benjamin Cauchy, a protest leader.