Protest against fuel prices in Paris
French authorities warned another wave of "great violence" and rioting could be unleashed in Paris this weekend by a hard core of 'yellow vest' protesters, as senior ministers sought to defuse public anger with conciliatory languages on taxes.
Despite capitulating this week over plans for higher fuel taxes that inspired the nationwide revolt, President Emmanuel Macron has struggled to quell the anger that led to the worst street unrest in central Paris since 1968.
Rioters torched cars, vandalised cafes, looted shops and sprayed anti-Macron graffiti across some of Paris's most affluent districts, even defacing the Arc de Triomphe. Scores of people were hurt and hundreds arrested in battles with police.
An official in Macron's office said intelligence suggested that some protesters would come to the capital this Saturday "to vandalise and to kill."
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said 65,000 security personnel would be deployed across the country on that day to keep the peace.
France has abandoned an increase in fuel taxes following weeks of violent demonstrations.“The government is ready for dialogue and is showing it because this tax increase has been dropped from the 2019 budget bill,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday in a speech at the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament.The move follows an announcement by Philippe the previous day that tax hikes would be delayed for six months and that the suspension would also apply to increases in gas and electricity prices.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.France could change position on wealth tax, Macron ally suggestsThe demonstrators, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and make economic arrangements to ease their lives.On Saturday, French police cracked down on protesters around the famous Champs-Elysees in Paris with tear gas and water cannons.Demonstrators set a large number of vehicles and trash cans ablaze and pelted police with stones and bottles.At least three people have died during the riots while 1,043 others have been injured, including 222 members of the security forces. As many as 1,424 people have been arrested.According to a recent survey, 84 percent of the French people -- mostly from the middle-income group -- support the protests.Fuel prices in France have risen more than 20 percent this year.
France cancels fuel tax hikes amid protests
In a bid to defuse the three-week crisis, Philippe had told parliament late on Wednesday that he was scrapping the fuel-tax increases planned for 2019, having announced a six-month suspension the day before.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told a conference he was prepared to bring forward tax cutting plans and that he wanted workers' bonuses to be tax-free.
But he added: "In this case, it must go hand-in-hand with a decrease in spending."
He also said France would impose a tax on big internet firms in 2019 if there was no consensus on a European Union-wide levy, seeking to appeal to the "yellow vests'" anti-business sentiment.
A car was set on fire in front of a high school on the outskirts of Paris on Thursday (December 6) as protests by students intensified in France. The incident happened next to the Lycee Polyvalent Liberte in Romainville, northeast of the capital.
Car burns in Paris as high-school students protest
SOCCER MATCHES CANCELLED
The threat of more violence poses a security nightmare for the authorities, who make a distinction between peaceful 'yellow vest' protesters and violent groups, anarchists and looters from the deprived suburbs who they say have infiltrated the movement.
On Facebook groups and across social media, the yellow vests are calling for an "Act IV", a reference to what would be a fourth weekend of disorder.
"France is fed up!! We will be there in bigger numbers, stronger, standing up for French people. Meet in Paris on Dec. 8," read one group's banner.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer urged people to stay at home during the coming weekend. Security sources said the government was considering using troops currently deployed on anti-terrorism patrols to protect public buildings.
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.France could change position over wealth tax, says government spokesmanHe 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: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.French PM suspends planned fuel tax increases for six-month periodIt 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. 
France could change position on wealth tax, Macron ally suggests
Several top-league soccer matches on Saturday have been cancelled and the Louvre museum said it and others were awaiting word from Paris officials on whether to close their doors.
The protests, named after the fluorescent jackets French motorists are required to keep in their cars, erupted in November over the squeeze on household budgets caused by fuel taxes. Demonstrations swiftly grew into a broad, sometimes-violent rebellion against Macron, with no formal leader.
Their demands are diverse and include lower taxes, higher salaries and Macron's resignation.
France's hard-left CGT trade union on Thursday called on its energy industry workers to walk out for a 48 hours from Dec. 13, saying it wanted to join forces with the yellow vests. The movement, with no formal leader, has so far not associated itself with any political party or trade union.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's approval ratings hit new lows as the "yellow vest" protests gathered pace, according to an Ifop-Fiducial poll for Paris Match and Sud Radio published on Tuesday.Macron's approval rating fell to 23 percent in the poll conducted late last week, down six points on the previous month. Philippe's rating fell 10 points to 26 percent.The president's score matches the low charted by his predecessor Francois Hollande in late 2013, according to Paris Match. Hollande was then considered to be the least popular leader in modern French history.The first "yellow vest" demonstrations were held on Nov. 17 to contest fuel-tax rises, and have since evolved into a broader protest movement and anti-Macron uprising.Protests in Paris on Dec. 1 turned particularly violent, with the Arc de Triomphe defaced and avenues off Paris's Champs Elysees suffering mass vandalism.French music band Orange Blossom hails Turkish musicParis riots hurt French tourism and transport stocksMacron to call on US funds to build French start-ups, not steal them
Macron's popularity hits new low amid French protests: poll
STREET POLITICS
The fuel-tax volte-face was the first major U-turn of Macron's 18-month presidency.
The unrest has exposed the deep-seated resentment among non-city dwellers that Macron is out-of-touch with the hard-pressed middle class and blue-collar labourers. They see the 40-year-old former investment banker as closer to big business.
Trouble is also brewing elsewhere for Macron. Teenage students on Thursday blocked access to more than 200 high schools across the country, burning garbage bins and setting alight a car in the western city of Nantes.
Meanwhile, farmers who have long complained that retailers are squeezing their margins and are furious over a delay to the planned rise in minimum food prices, and truckers are threatening to strike from Sunday.
Le Maire said France was no longer spared from the wave of populism that has swept across Europe.
"It's only that in France, it's not manifesting itself at the ballot box, but in the streets."
The estimated damage caused by the last weekend’s protests held by “yellow vests” in French capital Paris against fuel taxes was €3-4 million ($3.4-4.5 million), local media reported on Monday.Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, told France 3, a local broadcaster, that she estimates that Saturday's riots costed Paris “between $3-4 million euros.”Thousands of "yellow vest" protesters had gathered in Paris and several other cities to protest French President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax.Demonstrators, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and make economic arrangements to ease their lives.French police on Saturday cracked down on protesters around the famous Champs-Elysees in Paris with tear gas and water cannons.Demonstrators set a large number of vehicles and trash cans ablaze and pelted stones and bottles at the police.In the riots, at least two people have been killed, while 1,043 others -- including 222 security forces -- were injured, and as many as 1,424 persons were arrested.According to a recent survey, 84 percent of French people -- mostly from the middle-income group -- support the protests.Over the last year, fuel prices in France have risen more than 20 percent.Video: Hundreds arrested during Paris protestsMacron puts off Serbia visitMeanwhile, Macron has postponed his visit to Serbia over the "yellow vests" riots in France, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Monday.Macron was expected to go to Serbia on Dec. 5 but he postponed his visit to the Balkan country.In a news conference, Vucic said Macron told him over the phone that he has postponed his visit to Belgrade over the ongoing fuel tax protests in France.
'Yellow vests' riots in Paris cost at least €3M