Workers Revolutionary Party - YELLOW VEST ‘RESURGENCE’

The News Line: News Monday, 18 March 2019 YELLOW VEST ‘RESURGENCE’

Yellow Vest marchers in France – serving notice on Macron

FRANCE’S ‘Yellow Vest’ protest movement has rebounded with a major rally in Paris, described by organisers as an ultimatum to the government.

The protest was one of several in the French capital on Saturday. The movement had recently been characterised by politicians and media in France as losing steam, but a large crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees Avenue for the 18th straight week of anti-government protests.

Protesters erected barricades near the Champs-Elysees prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse them. The new protests coincided with the end of two months of public debates called by President Emmanuel Macron to take the heat out of the protests.

His hopes, however, were dealt a serious blow with the new protests. The unrest began in November over fuel tax hikes but quickly ballooned into an anti-Macron revolt. Over 5,000 police were deployed.

Laurent Casanova, an engineer, said he had come to mark the end of the consultations. ‘We have been patient but now we want results,’ he said. Thousands have been arrested and at least ten people have been killed since the protests started in November. A spokesman for Paris police said 192 people were being held for questioning.