Cleanup operations continue under the message, "The Yellow Vests will Triumph" written on the Arc de Triomphe, the morning after clashes with protesters wearing yellow vests, a symbol of a French drivers' protest against higher diesel taxes, in Paris, France, December 2, 2018.
A day after President Emmanuel Macron's administration backed down in the face of nationwide protests and suspended a fuel-tax, the government has suggested it could also amend a wealth tax that critics say goes too easy on the rich.
Speaking on RTL radio, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux, a close ally of Macron's, said all policies involving taxation needed to be reevaluated from time to time and, if deemed not to be working, should be changed.
"If a measure that we have taken, which is costing the public money, turns out not to be working, if it's not going well, we're not stupid - we would change it," he said.
The French government could change its position regarding a wealth tax, said government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux, as protests mount over President Emmanuel Macron's policies.The government has changed aspects of the wealth tax - known in France as the 'ISF' - by narrowing it down to lucrative property deals and real estate assets.However, that move had led to criticism that Macron was a "President of the Rich", since it would have eased the tax burden for many of the country's wealthiest citizens.On Wednesday, Griveaux told RTL radio the government could re-consider those proposals if it felt the move was not working."If a measure that we have taken, which is costing the public money, turns out not to be working, if it's not going well, we're not stupid - we would change it," he said.Earlier this week, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe decided to suspend planned increases to fuel taxes for at least six months in response to weeks of sometimes violent protests, marking the first major U-turn by Macron's administration in 18 months in office. Trump mocks Macron again over French fuel tax protests
France could change position over wealth tax, says government spokesman
He defended Macron's decision on coming into office last year to amend the wealth tax - known in France as 'ISF' - by narrowing it to a tax on real estate assets, rather than covering all worldwide assets, from jewellery to yachts to investments, over the value of 1.3 million euros.
Those changes earned Macron the label "president of the rich" because they were seen by his critics as accommodating the wealthy.
Asked whether the government would be willing to go back on that decision, Griveaux suggested it was possible.
"We did not cancel the ISF, we transformed it, I want to remind you that we maintained the tax on real estate... The tax that was removed was to encourage investments in the real economy. It was not a gift to the rich," he said, before adding:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday termed the Paris climate deal "fatally flawed", citing violent protests in France."I am glad that my friend @EmmanuelMacron and the protestors in Paris have agreed with the conclusion I reached two years ago," Trump said on Twitter. "The Paris Agreement is fatally flawed because it raises the price of energy for responsible countries while whitewashing some of the worst polluters in the world.""I want clean air and clean water and have been making great strides in improving America’s environment. But American taxpayers – and American workers – shouldn’t pay to clean up other countries’ pollution," Trump wrote.Thousands of protesters wearing yellow vests have been gathering in major French cities, including Paris, since Nov. 17 to protest President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation in France.Earlier in the day, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government has suspended the planned fuel price rise for six months, in an apparent effort to appease the protesters.“No tax is worth putting the nation’s unity in danger,” he said in a live televised address.In June 2017, Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, an international agreement working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.In October of this year, he accused climate change scientists of having a “political agenda”, saying that while he thinks the climate is changing, he does not believe it is manmade.
Paris climate deal 'fatally flawed': Trump
"We are evaluating it, we are controlling it. This money was to be invested in our SMEs for them to develop, innovate and hire. If that is not the case, if the evaluation is not good, then we can reopen it for discussion."
Over the past three weeks, Macron has come under immense pressure in the face of nationwide protests against a fuel-tax increase that was set to begin in January.
The so-called "yellow vest" movement, named for the high-visibility jackets motorists in France must have in their cars, led to violent clashes with police in Paris at the weekend, and on Tuesday prompted the government to change course.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the carbon-tax increase would be suspended for six months and the time used to examine other steps to ease the burden on blue-collar workers and the squeezed middle-class.
The French government on Tuesday suspended planned increases in three taxes on fuel for a six-month period starting Jan.1 in response to nationwide protests against high pump prices and living costs, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced."This anger, you'd have to be deaf or blind not to see it or hear it," Philippe said in an address."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."The so-called "yellow vest" movement, which started on Nov. 17 as a social-media-organised protest group named for the high-visibility jackets all motorists in France must have in their cars, has focused on denouncing a squeeze on household spending brought about by Macron's taxes on fuel.However, over the past three weeks the protests have evolved into a wider anti-Macron uprising, with many criticising the president for pursuing policies they say favour the rich and do nothing to help the working poor.Despite mostly peaceful nationwide demonstrations, the protests have turned violent on successive weekends in Paris. 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.Macron set for tax U-turn to quell 'yellow vest' protests'Yellow vests' riots in Paris cost at least €3M
French PM suspends planned fuel tax increases for six-month period
It marked the first major U-turn by Macron in his 18-months in office and comes at a time when he is far down in the polls, with his popularity at barely more than 20 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to mock Macron over the policy shift, which will make it harder for France to meet its CO2 emissions reduction target, a core element of the Paris climate agreement of 2015.
"I am glad that my friend @EmmanuelMacron and the protestors in Paris have agreed with the conclusion I reached two years ago," Trump tweeted late on Tuesday.
"The Paris Agreement is fatally flawed because it raises the price of energy for responsible countries while whitewashing some of the worst polluters."
If the government were to look at reimposing some of the dropped elements of the ISF tax it would mark a fundamental change of direction for Macron, who came to power promising to be "neither of the left nor the right" politically.