French president's reform agenda wont be easy to push
A view of the Place de la Republique as protesters wearing yellow vests gather in Paris, France, on December 8 2018. Picture: REUTERS/STEPHANE MAHE
But images of burning banks and ransacked restaurants on the famed Champs-Elysees in Paris this past weekend have put Macron back on the defensive — just as he mulls new policies to appease the “yellow vest” protesters. “His debate may be finished but we are still here on the streets,” 43-year old unemployed Agnes said during the yellow vest march in Paris. “And if he does not satisfy our demands, we will take back the roundabouts, we will go and block everything.”
“Will we be able to implement all the recommendations and meet all expectations? No, because politics is about making choices,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said. Less than three months before European elections that anti-establishment nationalists want to use as a show of force across the continent, a lost referendum could also backfire and offer Macron’s opponents an opportunity to challenge his legitimacy.
He gave priority early in his presidency to pro-business tax cuts over measures to help low-income workers, and that angered left-leaning voters.
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