There was a concerted Emmanuel Macron as in prime time turned to the French. He began to condemn the violence that took place in conjunction with the Yellow västarnas demonstrations – as late as last Saturday, took great riots in Paris, Toulous, Bordeaux, and a number of other cities. He also reminded that the government already has backed away from the increase in tax on petrol and diesel, which triggered the uprising.
But Macron also said that the Yellow västarnas anger ”in many ways, is legitimate”, and that the government is now launching a symbolic ”economic and social state of emergency”. For a start, raised the minimum wage with 100 euro per month from the new year. It does this to about 1,500 euros per month (15,000). Overtime exempt. And as a christmas present in it: employers receive a tax exemption on christmas bonus to employees.
Maybe managed to Macros in all cases to put a stop to the escalation of the conflict. A negotiation with the representatives of the movement should now be possible – in any case, if the Yellow vests can agree on a group of representatives (which is far from certain).
That the president before he delivered his speech should have conversed with the French trade unions and employers ‘ organisations to give particular weight and credibility to talk about ”the economic and social state of emergency”. It can also act as a restraining factor.
But the rebellion is not over. The promise of the height of the minimum wage, the risk of backfire if it is perceived to be that the president just trying to buy himself more time with the ”crumbs from the baguetten”, as the French say.
The initial reactions from the Yellow västarnas different local bands from beijing and around the country were cautiously positive, but many also seem to question how the government is going to pay for the reform. The president said in his speech that companies should not have to pay the bill for the increase of the minimum wage. So the question is who gets to make it.
The French government has previously committed itself not to exceed the EU’s 3-total number of natural persons for the budget deficit in relation to GDP, and a part of the ”yellow vests” warned in a French tv in order to raise the minimum wage may be financed by increased taxes – and thus beating against the lågavlönades disposable income.
Many of the other demands highlighted by Yellow vests – as a bet on better public transport in rural areas, better rail connections to the towns and expanded government service, was not at all of the Macros.
For the activists is also the president’s transformation of the wealth tax to a new property tax, continued a red line. The president was on Monday, that he does not intend to backtrack on the reform, which he defends as necessary in order not to frighten away capital from France.