‘Yellow vest’ crisis catastrophe

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All eyes on Macron, Paris counts riot cost

A man with a sign reading ‘Macron resign’ waves a French flag as ‘yellow vests’ (Gilets jaunes) protestors gather to protest against rising oil prices and living costs at the highway’s toll of La Barque, on Dec 9, near Marseille, southern France. (AFP)

PARIS, Dec 9, (Agencies): Calls mounted Sunday for President Emmanuel Macron to bring an end to the “yellow vest” crisis gripping France as authorities in Paris and elsewhere counted the cost of another day of violent protests and looting. Authorities said the anti-Macron riots in Paris had been less violent than a week ago, with fewer injured – but city hall said the physical damage was far worse as the protests were spread out across the capital. Burned-out cars dotted the streets in several neighborhoods on Sunday morning as cleaners swept up the broken glass from smashed shop windows and bus stops.

“There was much more dispersion, so many more places were impacted,” Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told France Inter radio. “There was much more damage yesterday than there was a week ago.” The southwestern city of Bordeaux was also badly hit by rioting during a fourth successive weekend of nationwide “yellow vest” protests. What began as demonstrations against fuel tax hikes have ballooned into a mass movement over rising living costs and accusations that Macron, an ex-banker, only looks out for the rich. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the unrest was creating a “catastrophe” for the French economy, with nationwide roadblocks playing havoc with the traffic and putting off tourists from visiting Paris.

Parts of the city were on lock-down Saturday, with department stores shut to avoid looting along with museums and monuments including the Eiffel Tower. “It’s a catastrophe for commerce, it’s a catastrophe for our economy,” Le Maire told reporters as he visited shops in Paris hit by looting. Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux vowed that Macron’s centrist administration would find solutions that took into account protesters’ different grievances. Overwhelmingly made up of people from rural and small-town France, the movement nonetheless includes protesters of various political stripes whose goals range from lower taxes to Macron’s resignation. “We need to find solutions that take account of each person’s reality,” Griveaux told Europe 1 radio.

“It is anger that is difficult to understand from an office in Paris,” he acknowledged. The protests have shown little sign of easing since they began on Nov 17. The interior ministry said 136,000 people had taken part nationwide in Saturday’s protests, which turned violent in several other cities including Marseille and Toulouse.

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