France: Emmanuel Macron begins 'grand debate' tour
January 16, 2019
The French president encouraged people to list their grievances and propose changes to the nation's economy during a "great debate." The tour is aimed at quelling the "yellow vest" movement.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Marin
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French President Emmanuel Macron met with about 600 mayors across the Normandy region on Tuesday in his first session of a two-month national debate tour he promised in response to the country's "yellow vest" movement.
In his opening remarks to the gathering in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde, Macron said he was there to hear the concerns of the French and promised that the questions raised by the citizens would be given consideration.
"There can be no taboos," he said, acknowledging that France was going through "a social fracture that we have talked about for 25 years."
France has seen tens of thousands take to the streets in Paris and other cities on a weekly basis wearing the yellow high-visibility vests found in French vehicles. What started as protests against a fuel tax hikes, which Macron has since suspended, has evolved into anti-government demonstrations which have led to clashes with police in many cases.
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On Sunday, Macron set out a framework for a "grand national debate" in a six-page letter to the public, where he said he hoped "as many people" as possible would participate in town-hall-style discussions.
Macron's town hall discussions are expected to center around four major themes that have emerged from the "yellow vest" protests:
Taxation, including the removal of the wealth tax
France's transition to a low-carbon economy
Democracy and citizenship, and
The functioning of the state and public services
"We won't agree on everything, that's normal, that's democracy. But at least we'll show we are a people who are not afraid to talk, exchange and debate," Macron's letter read.
A timeline of France's 'yellow vest' protests
French President Emmanuel Macron's concessions to protesters have not been enough to end demonstrations replete with violence and vandalism. DW takes a look at the chronology of the protests shaking France's streets.
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
Mad at Macron
Since his election in May 2016, French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity has fallen steadily thanks to unpopular financial policies, such as ending a wealth tax, and his public manner, which many see as aloof and arrogant. But it was his planned fuel-tax hike, an environmental measure, that really kicked things off. An online video saying Macron is "hounding drivers" goes viral in October.
Image: Reuters/C. Platiau
Nationwide protests
Online outrage is soon transferred to France's streets as more than 290,000 demonstrators don the high-visibility vests that drivers are required by law to keep in their cars. They block roads nationwide. The protests, coordinated via social media, have no structural organization, lack visible leadership and disavow union or party ties. At least one person is killed and more than 150 are arrested.
Image: Reuters/E. Gaillard
Clashes and destruction
The Macron government says it won't back down, and further protests are scheduled. On November 24, some 100,000 people protest nationwide, with 8,000 in Paris, where violence and destruction breaks out. Police clash with protesters on the Champs-Elysees (above), using water canon and tear gas. Over €1 million ($1.1 million) in damage is reported.
Image: Reuters/B. Tessier
Cracking under pressure
The "yellow vest" protests are a massive problem for Macron. He initially refuses to budge on the fuel tax, then proposes adjustment in case of rising oil costs. Not satisfied, protesters hit French streets again on December 1, with violence and vandalism erupting in Paris. Macron calls a crisis meeting the next day and on December 5, amid threats of more protests, Macron ditches the fuel tax.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Guay
Paris on lockdown
Macron, however, refuses to reinstitute the wealth tax and dismisses protesters' calls for his resignation. The "yellow vests" defy easy categorization, as protesters include both far-left and far-right supporters who opposed Macron's presidency bid. On December 8, nationwide violent protests take place again. Armored vehicles roll down Paris streets as much of the city goes on lockdown.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Mattiale Pictorium
Speech to the nation
On December 10, Macron responds to the 4-week-old protests with a televised speech to the nation from the Elysee Palace. More than 21 million viewers tune in as Macron strikes a conciliatory tone, saying he accepts his "share of responsibility" for the crisis. He introduces new financial measures, including a minimum-wage hike, tax-free overtime pay and tax exemptions for low-income retirees.
Image: Reuters/L. Marin
Neighboring discontent
In the meantime, the "yellow vest" protests jump beyond France's borders to other countries. In Belgium, demonstrators expressed anger over high taxes and food prices, as well as low wages and pensions. Anti-riot police responded with water cannon after protesters threw rocks at the prime minister's office. In Germany, protesters also turned out in Berlin and Munich.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
NYE calm
Protesters in France continue into late December, though turnout numbers fall. That doesn't discourage unofficial but high-profile protest leaders, who use social media to encourage continued demonstrations. On New Year's Eve, many revelers wear yellow vests as they take part in peaceful, "festive" gatherings in Paris.
Image: Reuters/C. Hartmann
No end in 2019
Any hopes for calm in the new year were quickly dashed when on January 5 a fresh round of nationwide protests saw some 50,000 take part, an increase in turnout after the holiday lull but less than initial December gatherings. In Paris, some protesters clashed with police, setting fire to motorcycles and storming government buildings. Macron condemned the violence, saying, "Justice will be done."
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
'Reclaiming' yellow vest protests
Several hundred women wearing yellow vests marched through Paris on January 6 in an effort to restore a peaceful image to the "yellow vest" protests. At one point during the march, the women protesters fell to their knees in a minute of silence for the 10 people killed and many others injured since the start of the movement.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Petit
'Grand debate'
In response to the "yellow vest" protests, Macron launched a series of town hall discussions where he said he would hear the concerns of the French. His first was on January 15 in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde, where around 600 mayors from the Normandy region gathered to raise complaints from their constituents.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Marin
Rubber bullets do damage, too
Prominent activist Jerome Rodrigues was injured in a confrontation on January 26. Rodrigues said he was hit in the eye by a police rubber bullet, an anti-riot weapon that has become highly controversial in France. The incident led to public outrage and was one of many severe injuries that protest groups blamed on the rubber bullets.
Image: Reuters/P. Wojazer
Court rules rubber bullets fair game
Following numerous injuries and outcry from the left-wing CGT trade union and the French Human Rights League, top French legal authority Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) refused on February 1 ban police from using the "sub-lethal" Defense Ball Launchers (LBDs) . The court said the risk of violence at the demonstrations made it "necessary to allow security forces to use these weapons."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Souvant
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Grievances
Many village and small-town mayors have opened "cahiers de doleance" (loosely translates to "books of complaints") in their town halls in response to the yellow vest movements.
Vincent Martin, the mayor of Grand Bougtheroulde, told the president on Tuesday that transport and the cost of living were "recurrent themes" in the complaints, adding that local people had "a lot of expectation."
Several mayors also spoke of a feeling of abandonment and dwindling public services in sparsely populated areas.
"We feel isolated and yet we're only 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Paris," said Mayor Jean-Noel Montier of Mensil-en-Ouche, a collection of several small remote villages.
Macron's meeting with the mayors lasted about three hours and was broadcast live across French television.
Around 100 "yellow vest" protesters gathered outside the venue, a sports hall in the town, to express their discontent with the French president, some of whom shouted "Macron resign." Police used tear gas to disperse the group and a few people were arrested.
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed mayors in the Normandy regionImage: Getty Images/AFP/P. Wojazer
'Screwing' with the system
Before his town hall in Grand Bougtheroulde, Macron made a surprise visit to a local officials' meeting in the small town of Gasny, located near the Seine river about 70 kilometers west of Paris.
In the meeting, some expressed concerns over the loss of purchasing power of retirees and civil servants. Macron responded by suggesting some poor people were "screwing" with the system.
"For people who are struggling, we will make them more aware of their responsibilities, because some of them are behaving properly, while others are messing around," Macron said.
The outspoken president had previously made comments perceived by many French as arrogant, including when he told an unemployed man to "cross the street" to find a job or when he suggested some French workers are "lazy."
In Grand Bourgtheroulde, one mayor asked if he regretted some of his remarks in the past, to which Macron replied: "That's how I am. I'm not going to change."
