Macron Public Support Slumps Again Even After Yellow Vest Concessions

PARIS (AFP) — A month of “yellow vest” protests have taken a further toll on the popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron, a new poll showed Sunday, with analysts saying he will be forced to change his style of governing.

Around 66,000 protesters turned out again on Saturday on the fifth round of anti-government demonstrations, which sprung up over fuel tax hikes last month.

The figure was about half the number of the previous weekend, suggesting momentum was waning and the most acute political crisis of Macron’s 19-month presidency was coming to an end.

“It is calming down, but what remains of it all is a strong feeling of hatred towards Macron,” said veteran sociologist Herve Le Bras from the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).

A major poll by the Ifop group published in Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed Macron’s approval had slipped another two points in the last month, to 23 percent.

The proportion of people who declared themselves “very dissatisfied” by his leadership jumped by six points to 45 percent.

Many of the protesters have targeted Macron personally, calling on him to resign or attacking his background as an investment banker and his alleged elitism.

Le Bras said the protests had underlined the depth of dislike for Macron’s personality and style of governing, which critics see as arrogant and too distant.

— ‘Context has changed’ —

The 40-year-old also acknowledged widespread animosity towards him and came close to apologising for a series of verbal gaffes seen as dismissive of the poor or jobless.

Two polls published last Tuesday — in the wake of Macron’s concessions — suggested the country was now split broadly 50-50 on whether the protests should continue.

“It’s a movement that has succeeded in forcing back what looked like a strong government,” Jerome Sainte-Marie, a public opinion expert at the Pollingvox group, told AFP.

“People have confidence in themselves now, so things won’t return to how they were on November 15” before the protests started, he said.

“The context in which Emmanuel Macron holds power has changed,” he added.

The government has announced a six-month consultation with civil society groups, mayors, businesses and the “yellow vests” to discuss tax and other economic reforms.

Hikes in petrol and diesel taxes, as well as tougher emissions controls on old vehicles — justified on the grounds of environmental protection — were what initially sparked the “yellow vest” movement.

Macron “won’t necessarily change the overall course of his reforms, rather the way he carries them out,” Levy added.

— Calls for calm —

In Paris on Saturday, more than 8,000 police on duty easily outnumbered the 2,200 protesters counted by local authorities.

There were 168 arrests by early evening, far fewer than the 1,000 or so of last Saturday.

Tear gas was occasionally fired, but only a fraction compared with the weekends of December 8 or December 1 when graffiti was daubed on the Arc de Triomphe in scenes that shocked France.

At Toulouse, in the southwest, police said they had arrested 31 people and were still detaining 26 after clashes during ‘yellow jacket’ protests in the city.

Two motorway tollbooths at Narbonne and Perpignan in the south were burned overnight Saturday to Sunday, fire services reported. Both had been targetted in previous protests.

Richard Ferrand, the head of the National Assembly, welcomed the “necessary” weakening of “yellow vest” rallies on Saturday, adding that “there had been a massive response to their demands”.

Now, he added: “The time for dialogue has come.”

“Dialogue now needs to unite all those who want to transform France.”

He said eight people had died since the start of the movement.

Around 69,000 security forces were mobilised across France on Saturday, down from 89,000 the previous weekend, when 2,000 people were detained.