‘Yellow Vest’ protests dwindle amid warnings and concessions

The fifth weekend of “Yellow Vest” protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s economic and social policies drew far fewer demonstrators Saturday, but thousands still filled the streets of Paris and other French cities in defiance of government security warnings and despite bitter cold.

The demonstrations were also calmer than in past weeks — though some scuffles broke out between protesters and police, who fired tear gas and water cannons several times to disperse crowds.

The ranks of protesters dwindled after Macron this week promised tax cuts and wage increases to mollify the Yellow Vests, who are angry over the cost of living and high taxes. It was still not clear whether Macron was able to convince many of the protesters, as he struggles to address an unstructured and leaderless movement with myriad grievances.

The government had also warned that protests would complicate the task of preventing terrorism after a shooting Tuesday at a Christmas market in the eastern city of Strasbourg killed four people.

Pierre-Étienne Billot, 40, was one of the relatively few Parisian demonstrators; most have come to the capital from provinces. He said his opinion of Macron had not changed.

“He is someone who looks down his nose at you,” said Billot, who works in marketing. He stood on the famed Champs-Élysées, tear gas wafting in the distance, in front of a large drugstore that was broken into last week by protesters but left alone Saturday.

Several people said that weariness from weekly protests — and a growing reluctance to attend potentially violent demonstrations — had chipped away at the number of protesters.

The demonstrations have become “a bit repetitive,” Billot said. “Demonstrating every Saturday doesn’t help the movement. We need more symbolic actions” like blocking airports or other key locations, he added.

French gendarmes stand guard during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, Dec 15, 2018. REUTERS

On Saturday evening, police said that there were fewer than 3,000 protesters in Paris, and that fewer than 200 people had been arrested compared with more than 1,000 a week ago. The government said about 66,000 had turned out across the country versus more than 125,000 by that same time last Saturday — 10,000 of them in Paris.

In other French cities like Saint-Etienne, Bordeaux or Marseille, turnout and tensions between police and protesters were also lower than in past weeks.

The protesters who did come out said Macron had not done enough to assuage their concerns, even with the recent concessions.

“We are exhausted by the colossal pressure of taxation that takes away the energy of our country, of our entrepreneurs, of our artisans, of our small businesses, of our creators and of our workers, while a small elite constantly dodges taxes,” Priscillia Ludosky, best known for a petition calling for a drop in gas prices, said into a megaphone in front of the Paris Opera house, where hundreds of protesters had gathered.

The demonstrations by the Yellow Vests — who take their name from the fluorescent hazard vests that all drivers in France must carry in their vehicles — were initially driven by anger over an increase in fuel taxes, since cancelled. But they have morphed into a much broader expression of frustration over declining purchasing power and a rejection of Macron’s style of government.

Another growing demand from the Yellow Vests is the creation of a mechanism for popular referendums in the Constitution as a way to give the public a bigger say in making French laws.

"Yellow Vest" protestors walk by a roundabout in Paris, Nov 30, 2018. The New York Times

The protests initially erupted Nov. 17, and have been smaller but unrelenting since. More than 2,100 people — 700 of them police officers, gendarmes or firefighters — have been injured.

Violence during the demonstrations increased, especially over the past two weekends when protesters, some of them vandals, clashed with police, burned cars and looted stores in Paris and other cities. Demonstrators and journalists complained about heavy-handed tactics by police.

In a report published Friday, Human Rights Watch said that France’s “crowd-control methods maim people,” pointing to cases where protesters were wounded by rubber projectiles and tear gas grenades.

Preparing for a violent Saturday has become something of a ritual this fall, especially in Paris, where authorities deployed thousands of police officers and locked down entire neighbourhoods. Shops and cafes boarded up, and monuments like the Arc de Triomphe and museums stayed closed.

But the overall mood in Paris remained calm. No cars were burned, and no barricades were erected.

Macron’s supporters welcomed the respite. Richard Ferrand, president of France’s lower house of Parliament and a close ally of Macron, said that the sparsely attended protests were something to “rejoice” about.

Protesters wearing yellow vests take part in a demonstration of the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, Dec 15, 2018. REUTERS

“The hour is not for fighting, but for debating,” he told French television reporters.

Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, was more forceful.

“The roundabouts must be freed, and the security of all must once again become the rule,” he said on Twitter on Saturday evening, adding that an eighth person had died on the fringes of the demonstrations since the beginning of the movement.

In a widely watched televised address this week, Macron made a rare admission of shortcomings, outlining a roughly 10 billion-euro plan to increase the wages of low-income earners and to cut taxes for poorer pensioners and those on overtime pay.

He also promised to work more closely on policymaking with residents and local authorities, and announced plans for a nationwide debate on environmental policy, taxation, democracy, and state reform.

Despite the low turnout Saturday and even lower expectations that people would protest next week, just days before Christmas, protesters said anger with Macron had not gone away.

“We are fed up,” said Jody Demengel, a 19-year-old job seeker, who noted that while Macron had announced some relief, “the students have nothing, the unemployed are still left by the wayside.”

© 2018 New York Times News Service