Macron pledges tax cuts and wage hikes

French president acknowledges his share of responsibility for the anger on the streets

But President refuses to reinstate wealth tax, as he seeks to respond to wave of protests |

FFrench President Emmanuel Macron yesterday pledged to cut taxes for pensioners and raise the minimum wage in January but refused to reinstate a wealth tax, as he sought to respond to a wave of protests that have challenged his authority.

“We will respond to the economic and social urgency with strong measures, by cutting taxes more rapidly, by keeping our spending under control, but not with Uturns,” Macron said in a TV address to the nation.

He urged French companies to pay their workers a year end bonus that won’t be taxed and ended levies on overtime as he sought to draw a line under the monthlong Yellow Vests crisis roiling France.

In a statement aired on French television and radio networks, Macron said his country is at a historic crossroads and acknowledged his share of responsibility for the anger on the streets. They were his first public comments in more than a week.

Elected for a five-year mandate with a majority in Parliament and no mid-term elections, Macron’s job should be safe for now. But his ability to continue with the ambitious programme of reforms he’s set out will depend on how the public reacts to lastnight’s statement.

Macron is facing a “moment of truth,” the Parisien newspaper said in its leading headline yesterday, warning that if he fails to appease the anger, “France will enter a dangerous period of political instability.”

Road blockades

On the economic front, the protesters’ nationwide campaign of road blockades, coupled with the looting and vandalism seen during weekend protests in Paris and other cities, has dealt a heavy blow to the retail and hospitality sector.

France’s central bank yesterday halved its fourth-quarter growth forecast to just 0.2 per cent from 0.4 per cent — far below the 0.8 per cent growth needed to meet the government’s full-year target of 1.7 per cent.

“We can’t recover this,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on RTL radio yesterday. “That’s the reality, for businesses, shop owners whose stores were damaged, vandalised or looted on Saturday.”

Le Maire added that he was in favour of accelerating tax cuts in response to the protests — one of the demands voiced during the past month.