French president breaks silence on protests

Associated Press

PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron tried to reassert control over a nation wracked by increasingly violent protests with offers of tax relief for struggling workers and pensioners – and an exceptional admission Monday that “I might have hurt people with my words.”

It may not be enough.

Even as Macron broke his silence on the protests in a brief televised address, yellow-vested demonstrators vowed to keep up the pressure on a man they see as arrogant, out-of-touch and “president of the rich.”

“We are at a historic moment for our country,” the French leader said from the presidential Elysee Palace. “We will not resume the normal course of our lives” after all that has happened.

Speaking with a soft voice and gentle tone, Macron pleaded for a return to calm after almost four weeks of protests that started in neglected provinces to oppose fuel-tax increases and progressed to rioting in Paris and a plethora of broad demands.

It’s a turning point in Macron’s presidency, and a crucial moment for both France and Europe. Macron rode to the presidency last year on promises of rejuvenating France’s stagnant economy and salvaging European unity. His credibility on both fronts is now deeply damaged, just as the EU struggles with Britain’s chaotic exit and as France’s protests have prompted copycat movements beyond its borders.

French protesters spent days demanding that Macron speak publicly about their concerns. After he did, they dissected his promises.

“It doesn’t solve the problem,” protester Alain Bouche told BFM television from a yellow-vest roadblock southwest of Paris. He said fellow demonstrators want a national referendum, too.

Students opposing changes in key high-school tests called for a new round of protests today.