French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe is preparing to suspend planned tax increases on fuel, according to a government source quoted by the AFP and Reuters news agencies, Euronews reports.
President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a way to defuse nationwide protests over high living costs that led to widespread rioting in Paris at the weekend and are hurting the economy.
The French government is facing stalemate this morning as protesters from the Yellow Vests movement cancelled talks with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. Protests will continue this week and the Elysee remains in crisis.
A turnaround in the decision would follow a weekend of violent protests in Paris that led to hundreds of arrests and almost 100 people injured. Until now, Emmanuel Macron has been reluctant to suspend the price hikes, tweeting on Saturday that the protests were “nothing to do with the peaceful expression of legitimate anger.”
Ce qu’il s’est passé aujourd’hui à Paris n’a rien à voir avec l’expression pacifique d’une colère légitime.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 1, 2018