 "Yellow Vests" protesters chant slogans on the Champs-Elysées near the Arc de Triomphe on December 8, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) |
On December 4, French Prime Minister Édouard Phillipe told deputies of the ruling party, "La République en Marche", that a proposed fuel tax rise, which had led to the largest protests France has seen in decades, would be suspended.
The protesters, called Gilets-Jaunes -- "Yellow Vests," because of the vests drivers are obliged by the government to carry in their vehicles in the event of a roadside breakdown -- say that the fuel tax was the last straw from a president who took office with a promise to help the economically left-behind but instead has favoured the rich.
Even by French standards, the protests of the "Yellow Vests" during the weekend of December 1 were startling. Burning cars and vast plumes of grey smoke seemed to engulf the Arc De Triomphe as if Paris were at war. Comparisons were drawn with the Bread Wars of the 17th Century and the spirit of the Revolution of the 18th Century.
For more than two weeks, the "Yellow Vests" disrupted France. They paralyzed highways and forced roads to close -- causing shortages across the country – and blocked fuel stations from Lille in the North to Marseilles in the South.
During protests in France's capital, Paris, the "Yellow Vests" were soon joined by a more violent element, who began torching cars, smashing windows and looting stores. 133 were injured, 412 were arrested and more than 10,000 tear gas and stun grenades were fired.
One elderly lady was killed when she was struck by a stray grenade as she tried to shutter her windows against the melee.
There was talk of imposing a State of Emergency.
The "Yellow Vests" present the most significant opposition French President Emmanuel Macron has faced since coming to office in May 2017. Unlike previous protests in France, which have divided public opinion, these have widespread support – 72% according to a Harris Interactive Poll published December 1st.
Fuel tax rises -- announced in November before being retracted on December -- were intended to help bring down France's carbon emissions by curbing the use of cars. Macron makes no secret of his wish to be seen as a global leader for environmental reform.
He forgets that back at home, among the people who elected him, fuel prices really matter to those outside big cities, where four-fifths of commuters drive to work and a third of them cover more than 30km each week.
The increases have incensed people in smaller communities, where they have already seen speed limits reduced to please the Greens and cuts to the local transport services.
These additional costs-of-living increases come at an extremely bad time for ordinary French people working outside of Paris. Lower-middle class families are not poor enough to receive welfare benefits but have seen their income flat-line whilst cost-of-living and taxes have risen.
An analysis by the Institut des Politiques Publiques think-tank shows that benefits cuts and tax changes in 2018 and 2019 will leave pensioners and the bottom fifth of households worse off, while the abolition of the wealth tax means that by far the biggest gains will go to the top 1%
This is tough to swallow. Macron is seen as being out of touch with ordinary people and is unlikely to escape his new title, "the President of the Rich."
"People have this feeling that the Paris technocrats are doing complicated things to screw them," said Charles Wyplosz, an economics professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
It is probably not as complex as that. The French people feel screwed.
As employment and growth are slowing, Macron, for the first time in his presidency, is under serious pressure. Unemployment is at 9%; his efforts to reform Europe are stalling, and his approval rating has plummeted to just 23% according to a recent opinion poll by IFOP.
Images of Macron at the Arc De Triomphe daubed in graffiti calling for him to step down, or worse, have done little to bolster his image abroad.
So far, Macron had said he would not bow to street protests. To underline his point, in September 2017, he called protestors against French labour-market reform "slackers".
The political U-Turn on the fuel tax is a turning point for the Macron presidency. The question is : What next, both for Macron and the "Yellow Vests"?
Macron most likely needs to plough ahead with his reform agenda, and doubtless knows he has the support of a solid majority in the National Assembly to do so. France is crippled by debt (nearly 100% of GDP) and its grossly bloated public sector. There are 5.2 million civil servants in France, and their number has increased by 36% since 1983. These represent 22% of the workforce compared to an OCDE average of 15%.
Tax-expert Jean-Philippe Delsol says France has 1.5 million too many "fonctionnaires [officials]. When you consider that public spending in France now accounts for 57 per cent of gross domestic product. Soon the system will no longer function as there will be less and less people working to support more and more people working less".
Macron's mistake, in addition to a seeming inclination for arrogance, is not to have made national economic reform his absolute priority right from his initial grace period after his election. Lower public expenses would have made it possible to lower taxes, hence creating what economists call a virtuous circle. Instead, he waited.
Now, at a time when he is deeply unpopular and social unrest is in full sway he is looking to make further reforms in unemployment benefits, scaling them back by reducing the payments and the length of time beneficiaries can receive the money. The "President of the Rich" strikes again.
There is talk that he may also re-introduce the wealth tax to try to placate the protestors.
Macron's presidential term lasts until May 13, 2022. Understandably, Macron will be focused on the elections to the European Parliament expected to be held May 23-26, 2019. Headlines have signalled that Marine Le Pen and the National Rally (formally National Front) are ahead in the polls at 20%, compared to Macron's En Marche at 19%.
The shift is understandable, given the divide between the countryside, where Le Pen has solid support, and the cities, where Macron's centre-left prevail.
In contrast, the "Yellow Vests" have galvanised support after standing up for the "impotent ordinary", and seem much buoyed by the solidarity they have been shown by both fire fighters and the police. There are images online of police removing their helmets and firefighters turning their backs on political authority to show their support for the protestors.
Whilst Macron's political opposition may be fragmented, this new breed of coherent public opposition is something new. Leaderless, unstructured and organised online, the "Yellow Vests" have gained support from the left and right, yet resisted subjugation by either.
Being leaderless makes them difficult to negotiate with, or to reason with in private. The "Yellow Vests" seem acutely aware of this strength, given their firm rebuttal of overtures for peace talks from the Macron government.
Enjoying huge support from the public and with reforms to the social welfare system on the horizon, the "Yellow Vests" are not going away.
For the first time in his Presidency, Macron is in trouble and Europe and America are looking on.
After Macron rebuked nationalism during his speech at the armistice ceremony, Trump was quick to remind the French President of his low approval rating and unemployment rate near 10%. A stinging broadside from Trump on twitter suggests that Macron may well be relegated to Trump's list of global "Losers":
"Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two - How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!"
The "impotent ordinary" in the United Kingdom, who might feel betrayed over Brexit, and the nationalists in Germany, who have suffered under Merkel , are no doubt staring in wonder at the "Yellow Vests", wishing for the same moxie.
The historian Thomas Carlyle, chronicler of the French Revolution, said the French were unrivaled practitioners in the "art of insurrection", and characterised the French mob as the "liveliest phenomena of our world".
Mobs in other countries, by comparison, he argued were "dull masses" lacking audacity and inventiveness. The blazing yellow vests of the French protest movement , however, have made Macron appear increasingly dull and weak too.
David Brown is based in the United Kingdom.
