All you need to know about ‘yellow vests’
The French government has pledged a range of measures to end weeks of demonstrations over taxes and declining standards of living. But who exactly makes up the ‘yellow vest’ movement, and will the government be able to quell their anger after a month of increasingly fiery protests?
Who are the protesters?
The ‘gilets jaunes’ (yellow vest) movement sprang up in late October against increases in fuel taxes announced as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to pay for clean energy initiatives.
While the protests began over fuel taxes, they have snowballed into a wider movement against Macron, largely among people in small-town and rural France. Many accuse the former investment banker of being an arrogant “president of the rich” who is out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people in the provinces.
What do they want?
Different protesters have different aims, and there is no widely recognised group of leaders for the grassroots movement which took root on social media. Some remain focused on lowering fuel taxes and other financial burdens, saying low-income families in particular are paying the price for Macron’s push to reform and revive the French economy.
Others have made it personal and say Macron must resign, still fuming over his decision to cut taxes for the highest earners shortly after sweeping to the presidency last year. An immediate increase in the minimum wage and pension benefits has also been a rallying cry.
Underpinning the movement is a widespread complaint that overlooked provincial workers on modest incomes barely scrape by after paying some of the highest tax bills in Europe.
Why do they pose a challenge?
The government has admitted it failed to appreciate the depth of the anger, and has announced it will cancel a fuel tax hike set for January, of seven euro cents for diesel and three cents for unleaded. Coming increases for electricity and gas prices were also frozen, as were new vehicle inspection norms which would have hit users of older diesel cars. The moves were dismissed by protesters — and Macron’s political opponents — as too little, too late. Since then Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has floated the idea of a bonus payment for low-paid workers. But efforts to negotiate have gone nowhere, not least because the movement’s purported leaders have largely declined invitations to talks — some because they were threatened by other ‘yellow vests’. Adding to the government’s headache, the movement has retained solid public support despite scenes of chaos in the capital last weekend.