• Write for Us
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Contact
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
British Herald
Advertisement
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
British Herald
Home World Europe

Macron makes U-turn on fuel-tax increases in face of ‘yellow vest’ protests

Editorial Bureau by Editorial Bureau
December 5, 2018
0
Macron makes U-turn on fuel-tax increases in face of ‘yellow vest’ protests

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s prime minister on Tuesday suspended planned increases to fuel taxes for at least six months in response to weeks of sometimes violent protests, the first major U-turn by President Emmanuel Macron’s administration in 18 months in office.

You might also like

Stefanos Kasselakis : New leader of Greek opposition party to do military service

Poland to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine over grain row

Germany bans neo-Nazi group Hammerskins

In announcing the decision, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said anyone would have “to be deaf or blind” not to see or hear the roiling anger on the streets over a policy that Macron has defended as critical to combating climate change.

“The French who have donned yellow vests want taxes to drop, and work to pay. That’s also what we want. If I didn’t manage to explain it, if the ruling majority didn’t manage to convince the French, then something must change,” said Philippe.

“No tax is worth jeopardising the unity of the nation.”

Along with the delay to the tax increases that were set for January, Philippe said the time would be used to discuss other measures to help the working poor and squeezed middle-class who rely on vehicles to get to work and go shopping.

Earlier officials had hinted at a possible increase to the minimum wage, but Philippe made no such commitment.

He warned citizens, however, that they could not expect better public services and lower taxes.

“If the events of recent days have shown us one thing, it’s that the French want neither an increase in taxes or new taxes. If the tax-take falls then spending must fall, because we don’t want to pass our debts on to our children. And those debts are already sizeable,” he said.

The measures will cost around 2 billion euros (£1.7 billion), but will be offset by corresponding spending cuts, a government source said.

The so-called “yellow vest” movement, which started on Nov. 17 as a social-media protest group named for the high-visibility jackets all motorists in France carry in their cars, began with the aim of highlighting the squeeze on household spending brought about by Macron’s taxes on fuel.

However, over the past three weeks the movement has evolved into a wider, broadbrush anti-Macron uprising, with many criticising the president for pursuing policies they say favour the rich and do nothing to help the poor.

Despite having no leader and sometimes unclear goals, the movement has drawn people of all ages and backgrounds and tapped into a growing malaise over Macron’s leadership. Over the past two days, ambulance drivers and students have joined in and launched their own protests.

Two unions, CGT and FO, called lorry drivers to start a strike from December 9 while several Facebook pages were also urging new rounds of demonstrations for next Saturday.

After three weeks of rising frustration, there was scant indication Philippe’s measures would placate the “yellow vests”, who themselves are struggling to find a unified position.

“The French don’t want crumbs, they want a baguette,” ‘yellow vest’ spokesman Benjamin Cauchy told BFM, adding that the movement wanted a cancellation of the taxes.

Another one, Christophe Chalencon, was more blunt: “We’re being taken for idiots,” he told Reuters, using a stronger expletive.

GREEN GOALS

The timing of the tax U-turn is uncomfortable for Macron. It comes as governments meet in Poland to try to agree measures to avert the most damaging consequences of global warming, an issue Macron has made a central part of his agenda. His carbon taxes were designed to address the issue.

But the scale of the protests against his policies made it almost impossible to plough ahead.

While the “yellow vest” movement was mostly peaceful to begin with, the past two weekends have seen outpourings of violence and rioting in Paris, with extreme far-right and far-left factions joining the demos.

On Saturday, the Arc de Triomphe national monument was defaced and avenues off the Champs Elysees were damaged. Cars, buildings and some cafes were torched.

The unrest is estimated to have cost the economy millions, with large-scale disruption to retailers, wholesalers, the restaurant and hotel trades. In some areas, manufacturing has been hit in the run up to Christmas.

CHANGE FRANCE?

Macron, a 40-year-old former investment banker and economy minister, came to office in mid-2017 promising to overhaul the economy, revitalise growth and draw foreign investment by making the nation a more attractive place to do business.

In the process he earned the tag “president of the rich” for seeming to do more to court big business and ease the tax burden on the wealthy. Discontent has steadily risen among blue-collar workers and others who feel he represents an urban “elite”.

For Macron, who is sharply down in the polls and struggling to regain the initiative, a further risk is how opposition parties leverage the anger and the decision to shift course.

Ahead of European Parliament elections next May, support for the far-right under Marine Le Pen and the far-left of Jean-Luc Melenchon has been rising. Macron has cast those elections as a battle between his “progressive” ideas and what he sees as their promotion of nationalist or anti-EU agendas.

Le Pen was quick to point out that the six-month postponement of the fuel-tax increases took the decision beyond the European elections.

(Additional reporting by Marine Pennetier, Elizabeth Pineau, Richard Lough, John Irish, Matthias Blamont and Myriam Rivet; Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

Share30Tweet19
Editorial Bureau

Editorial Bureau

Recommended For You

Stefanos Kasselakis : New leader of Greek opposition party to do military service

September 29, 2023
Stefanos Kasselakis

Stefanos Kasselakis , the newly elected leader of Greece's main leftwing opposition party, recently announced a brief hiatus from politics to fulfill his mandatory military service. At 35...

Read more

Poland to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine over grain row

September 21, 2023
Poland's Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, officially announced the suspension of poland supply of weapons to ukraine.

Poland, one of Ukraine's steadfast allies, has declared that it will cease the supply of weapons to Ukraine due to an escalating diplomatic dispute centered around grain trade....

Read more

Germany bans neo-Nazi group Hammerskins

September 19, 2023
The group played a prominent role in establishing neo-Nazi music labels

Germany has taken decisive action against the neo-Nazi group known as Hammerskins, notorious for organizing far-right concerts and distributing racist music. The move was hailed as a significant...

Read more

Polish Government under pressure over escalating cash for visas scandal

September 16, 2023
Polish Government

The Polish government is facing mounting pressure in the wake of an escalating scandal involving cash for visas. Tomasz Grodzki, the Speaker of Poland's upper house of parliament,...

Read more

Tragedy Strikes in Eastern Ukraine: Deadly Missile Strike on Peaceful Market

September 7, 2023
Deadly Russian Missile Strike on Market in Eastern Ukraine

A devastating Russian missile strike on Wednesday has left an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine in ruins. Transforming it into a harrowing scene of flames and despair as...

Read more
No Result
View All Result
Donald Trump

Donald Trump attacks New York court for fraud trial that threatens his business career

October 3, 2023
Uk gurudwara

UK : After Glasgow Gurudwara Incident, Indian National Attacked By Pro-Khalistan Elements

October 2, 2023
SlovakiaElection

Slovakia election : pro-Moscow former PM on course to win with almost all votes counted

October 1, 2023

Tags

australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england europe European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London News new zealand north korea politics Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain taiwan trending Trump turkey Twitter UK Ukraine usa worldnews
British Herald

Top News in World: Read Latest News on Sports, Business, Entertainment, Blogs and Opinions from leading columnists.

CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Articles
  • Asia
  • Brand Feature
  • Business
  • Climate & Environment
  • Companies
  • Crypto
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Daily Roundup
  • Economics
  • ECONOMY
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Finance
  • Financial Markets
  • Fintech
  • Health
  • IN UK 01
  • IN UK 02
  • Investing
  • Latin America
  • Market
  • Middle East
  • Oceania
  • Opinion
  • Pharma/BioTech
  • Politics
  • Reviews
  • Science & Technology
  • Sport
  • Sustainability
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • UK
  • Uncategorized
  • USA
  • Videos
  • World

BROWSE BY TAGS

australia boris johnson brexit britain British Herald CHINA Coronavirus coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine daily roundup Donald Trump Dubai expo 2020 england europe European Union facebook France germany Hong Kong india iran israel italy japan joe biden lockdown London News new zealand north korea politics Rishi Sunak russia south korea spain taiwan trending Trump turkey Twitter UK Ukraine usa worldnews

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
    • UK
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Oceania
    • USA
    • Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Politics
  • Business
    • ECONOMY
    • Financial Markets
    • Companies
  • Sport
  • Fintech
  • Videos
  • BH Magazine
  • More
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Science & Technology
    • Climate & Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Food and Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture and Lifestyle
    • Articles
    • Opinion

Herald Media Network Limited (UK). 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version