Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: After witnessing the violent “yellow vest” protests that mauled the streets of France, the French government has decided to suspend a planned hike in fuel prices. The protest that took off about a fortnight ago over the rising cost of fuel, took a violent turn over the weekend against President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
As per France’s BFMTV an affiliate of CNN, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will announce a moratorium on fuel price hikes, which had been slated to come into effect on January 1.
What is the Yellow Vest protest:
The anti-government tension that has left hundreds injured nationwide and caused widespread destruction around the capital, began on November 17 when nearly 300,000 people of the rural areas staged angry demonstrations. The protest being termed as a ‘protest of the poors’ is led by drivers wearing “yellow vests”, against the rising cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.
The protest was named after the high-visibility “yellow vests” or “gilets jaunes” that drivers have to keep in their vehicles for safety reasons.
How it began: The dissatisfaction among the rural poor rose after the government last year announced an increased tax on automobile fuels. The initial mobilistaion of the demonstrations began online and gradually grew into a full-fledged violent demonstration that propelled the government into action.
When it caught attention: The demonstrations amplified dramatically over the weekend with thousands of protesters taking over the prominent locations of capital despite the strong action by police. The pictures of the protesters fighting the water cannon and tear gas of the police took over the social media rapidly and the protest then caught global attention.
Casualties: As per a report in CNN three people have lost lives in the violence, while more than 260 have been injured.
On Monday the protesters blocked several highways and a fuel depot near Marseilles, following which the French government held crisis talks. President Macron had requested the political leaders to meet the protest organizers and party leaders as part of a “constant wish for dialogue,” the Elysee Palace said. Earlier, Environment Minister Francois de Rugy met representatives of the so-called “yellow vest” protesters last week but failed to convince them to end the demonstrations that have taken place over the last two weeks.
The government has not ruled out imposing a state of emergency to combat the protests, which began over fuel taxes but have morphed into a broad opposition front to Macron, 40, a pro-business centrist elected in May 2017.
