Yellow vests (Gilets jaunes) protestersrally during a demonstration against rising oil prices and living costs, in front of the main railway station in Lille northern France on December 1, 2018. - The "yellow vest" or "Gilets jaunes" movement is named after the high-visibility jackets which motorists are required to carry in their cars. The movement, organised through social media, has steadfastly refused to align with any political party or trade union and includes many pensioners and has been most active in small urban and rural areas where it has blocked roads, closed motorway toll booths, and even walled up the entrance to tax offices. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP) (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images)
French authorities announced that Parisian landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum would be closed in preparation for mass protests against the Emmanuel Macron regime this weekend. Authorities are concerned that the latest round of ‘yellow jacket’ protests could reach previously unseen intensity, as discontent with Macron’s government appears unlikely to fade away.
Forced to take action in response to the protests some have called the most intense in recent decades of French history, Macron announced that the climate-alarmist carbon tax that initially spurred the mass protests would be cancelled on Wednesday. A day earlier he had tried to distract from anger over the measure by merely postponing its implementation for six months, a strategy that was quickly revised to its total cancellation.
However, the revision of the policy doesn’t seem to have had an effect in diffusing the protests, which appear slated to continue with renewed force this weekend. The focus of the demonstrators has expanded beyond the carbon tax, now taking a broader aim at Macron’s policies for damaging the life prospects of the middle and working class while enriching the wealthiest elements of French society. While Macron has cut taxes for the liberal elite of French elite, he’s enacted a series of policies that increase taxes and the cost of living for a majority of the French people.
The Yellow Jacket, or gilet jaunes movement seems to draw from the supporters of former French nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen as well as from leftist political movements, such as those who supported socialist Jean-Luc Melenchon. France has consistently struggled with high unemployment rates in addition to high rates of taxation in recent years.
As discontent with Macron continues to boil over, it’s possible that the demonstrators will accept nothing other than his full removal from office.