‘Yellow vests’ reject Macron tax freeze

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday overturned fuel tax increases in an effort to appease the protest movement that caused havoc in Paris over the past two weeks.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a sixmonth suspension of a tax that was set to start on January 1, retreating from government warnings that it would not give in to the street violence staged by the yellow vests movement.

Mr Philippe also announced a freeze on an increase in electricity prices starting in May 2019, tax increases on off-road diesel fuel and the convergence between diesel and gas.

The announcement came as negotiators from 197 countries started the two-week Cop24 climate summit in Poland that seeks to ensure countries respect environmental commitments made in Paris in 2015.

Tax hikes introduced by Mr Macron were part of the president’s effort to cut carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and boost clean energy, in line with the agreement. Mr Philippe did not attend the summit as he tried to deal with the country’s worst urban violence in more than a decade.

A meeting between Mr Philippe and protesters scheduled for yesterday was cancelled after the yellow vests pulled out. Some of its members received death threats from hardliners in the group opposed to the idea of negotiating with the government.

The protesters expressed discontent with the measures taken by the government and have called for the repeal – rather than the suspension – of the tax proposals. Benjamin Cauchy, one of the leaders of the protests, said that the suspension is “a first step, but we will not settle for a crumb”.

Eric Drouet, a representative of the movement, told AFP that the announcement was “not at all what we were expecting”.

He called on protesters to gather at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Saturday.

“People are more and more motivated, we are organised and we will be even more numerous,” he said.