French President to Address Nation after Violent Paris Protests

Local Editor

French President Emmanuel Macron will announce on Tuesday new measures in an attempt to rally support for environment-friendly tax increases after facing violent anti-government protests in the French capital.

Meanwhile, Paris was counting the cost of clashes between police and demonstrators Sunday on the Champs-Elysees where barricades were set on fire, luxury shop windows smashed, and traffic lights uprooted.

In the same incident, 30 people were injured and 101 arrested, police said.

However, the government blamed much of the violence on a small minority of "ultra-right" activists who infiltrated some 8,000 demonstrators wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that symbolize their week-long protests against hikes in fuel tax.

Bruno Le Maire, the economy minister, acknowledged Sunday that "the current crisis goes far beyond just a question of fuel", adding that it was important that "work be better paid" to improve living standards.

"It is time to listen to the French," he said on BFM television, suggesting that Macron, on Tuesday, would call for "grassroots debates" throughout the country on government policies.

Relatively, the Elysee presidential palace said Macron would make a speech next week on ecological transition where he is expected to address the protests.

Opposition leaders have been quick to note that the protests, mostly organized by grass-root protesters coordinating by way of social media rather than by traditional political parties or trade unions, have won wide popular support.

Sunday morning, a number of protests continued, notably in southern France, where 'yellow vests' picketed the entrance to a motorway in Saint-Maximin and blockaded traffic in and around Avignon.

Protesters were also calling on social media for another national demonstration next Saturday.

The interior ministry said however that the number of protesters across France had dwindled from 282,000 on November 17 to 106,000 Saturday.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team