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PARIS -- The "yellow vests" in France are worrying greens around the world. The worst riots in Paris in decades were sparked by higher fuel taxes, and French President Emmanuel Macron responded by scrapping them Wednesday. But taxes on fossil fuels are just what international climate negotiators, meeting in Poland this week, say are desperately needed to help wean the world off of fossil fuels and slow climate change. Macron said the higher tax was his way of trying to prevent the end of the world. But the yellow vest protesters turned that around with the slogan: "it's hard to...

The French police forces including the special CRS riot police will be as fully mobilized as possible in Paris and other locations tomorrow as the "yellow vests" protests move into their next phase of mobilization swelled by new supporters. 125-thousand plus were estimated to have protested last Saturday and its quite possible that the protests may be even larger tomorrow. The Prime Minister of France's increasingly unpopular President Emmanuel Macron, Edouard Philippe, appeared on the evening television news Thursday to say 89-thousand police are mobilized for tomorrow's protests....

Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not yet been sworn into Congress, but she’s already eyeing a seat at one of the most powerful House committees in charge of taxation laws. The Democratic Socialist’s spokesperson confirmed to Vice News that she will seek a seat on the House Ways and Means committee, which is traditionally packed with seasoned legislators with experience in writing tax code. Rep. Joe Crawley, the top Democrat who was unseated by Ocasio-Cortez this year, was among the members of the committee. She is eyeing the exact same seat that is customarily reserved for New York City.

**SNIP** And according to a panel of transportation experts, the problem will only get worse in the future unless the state begins to better fund investments in its transportation system. "We're behind, to be perfectly frank," said IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, one of the panelists. "We are not funding transportation as well as some of our neighbors and as our competitors. ... I spend $250 a month on my phone. I spend $50 a month for water. This is the infrastructure of my life. It's what I need to make things happen. And we're spending 50 cents a day on...

PARIS - French authorities will close dozens of museums, tourism sites and shops on Saturday, including the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, fearing a recurrence of last week’s violence in Paris, officials said on Thursday. “We cannot take the risk when we know the threat,” Culture Minister Franck Riester told RTL radio, adding that far-right and far-left agitators were planning to hijack rallies by “yellow vest” protesters in Paris. He said the Louvre museum, Orsay museum, the two operas, and the Grand Palais were among the sites that would be closed a week after rioters looted and defaced the Arc de...

The tax collection blue ribbon now goes to France. Congratulations! Vs the OECD average of 34.2%, French taxes amount to 46.2% of GDP. Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and Greece round out the top five.

... It is likely that the economic ideas of the Yellow Vests are primitive and driven by resentment. Macron has suppressed the capital tax on financial assets, which had probably reduced overall tax receipts by driving rich people from France; but in conjunction with an increased tax on the consumption of a vital commodity, he gives the impression (not helped by the fact that he once worked in finance) that he unduly favors the rich at the expense of the poor. Many people I know want six impossible things before breakfast. They clearly see that high taxes on individuals and...

The government in France put out the word Wednesday night that the fuel tax would be suspended not just for six months, but for all of next year (2019). The leader of the opposition National Rally (former National Front) Marine Le Pen tweeted late Wednesday night that President Emmanuel Macron should pledge on his honor not to reintroduce the tax wit the amended budget in the spring. Whether this apparent concession will help stamp out protests is uncertain. Four have died and hundreds have been injured in the weeks of protests by the "yellow vests" but now high school and...

PARIS -- Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson moved from Malibu to Marseille recently and made a trenchant observation on Twitter about the recent fuel tax protests by "Gilets Jaunes" ("Yellow Vests") motorists. "I despise violence," Anderson tweeted, "but what is the violence of all these people and burned luxurious cars, compared to the structural violence of the French -- and global -- elites?" The problem with France is indeed structural. The current system really isn't that much different from the old one that dominated prior to the French Revolution. The elites are still there. So is the king. He's now...

French President Emmanuel Macron has scrapped a fuel tax rise amid fears of new violence, after weeks of nationwide protests and the worst rioting in Paris in decades. An official with the Elysee palace told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the president decided to get rid of the tax. Edouard Philippe told lawmakers that “the tax is now abandoned” in the 2019 budget, and the government is “ready for dialogue.” The budget can be adjusted or renegotiated through the course of the year. Three weeks of protests have left four people dead and were a massive challenge to Macron....

‘There is no Plan B because there is no Planet B,” Emmanuel Macron lectured Donald Trump—in English—when the American President withdrew from the Paris climate agreement last year. Well, apparently there is a Plan B after all. Mr. Macron on Tuesday stopped his fuel-tax increase after concluding that marginal carbon reductions aren’t worth kneecapping an economy and sacrificing his political career. Mr. Trump could have warned him. The French President views stopping climate change as a grand legacy project, and he had hoped to use higher fuel taxes to discourage driving for the sake of slashing carbon emissions. It didn’t...

PARIS (Reuters) - France overtook Denmark as the most taxed country in 2017 as government tax revenues in developed countries hit a record high, the OECD said, data which may do little to help President Emmanuel Macron placate protesters angered over living costs. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday overall government tax revenue on average reached 34.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year among 34 developed countries for which the Paris-based body compiled data. Though up only slightly from 34.0 percent in 2016, the figure was the highest average overall tax take since...

France suspends controversial fuel tax after weeks of unrest By James McAuley December 4 at 6:40 AM PARIS — French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced Tuesday that the French government would temporarily suspend the controversial carbon tax plan that triggered weeks of often violent protests around the country. To help curb climate change, the government had proposed a slew of new carbon taxes that were slated to take effect in January 2019 and were designed to wean consumers off diesel and other polluting fuels and to favor electric cars. But the price hikes those taxes represented triggered a wave of...

Marion Maréchal, the niece of Rassemblement National (National Rally) leader Marine Le Pen, revealed she attended the Paris Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests on Saturday and claimed to witness violence coming from left-wing extremists. Ms Maréchal, who dropped the ‘Le Pen’ from her name, also said that by the time violence erupted at the iconic Champs-Élysées, the real members of the movement had already left. Saying she arrived shortly after 2 pm, she said, “When I arrived on the Champs-Élysées, the real ‘Yellow Vests’ were long gone. The movement was totally absorbed by left-wing activists. We heard: ‘death to capitalism!’...

How often can I be right? As much as President Trump said Americans will win. As France burns from years of socialist rule, America goes through a Renaissance. The difference is America elected a real leader and not a chump. We watched for 8 years as our black version of Emmanuel Macron ruined the country. Over $8 trillion worthless dollars printed then pumped into an anemic economy, and the black Boy Wonder felt like a rock star. As one comedian put it, “We told you Obama was Superman, but we forgot to tell you he didn’t know how to fly.”...

One of France’s most revered monuments, the Arc de Triomphe, was stormed and vandalised on Saturday during the 'Yellow Vest' demonstrations, in one of the worst instances of unrest Paris has seen since the protests and riots of 1968. The interior of the Arc de Triomphe, the 19th-century arch that towers over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the western end of Champs Elysées, was ransacked. The statue of the Marianne, the symbol of the French republic, in display at the entrance of the Arc de Triomphe museum was smashed. A video shared on Facebook shows most of the...

BREAKING: WATCH: Paris: A group of French police officers remove their helmets to show solidarity with the French people against President Emmanuel Macron, as anti Macron protests continue throughout France.

Macron held a news conference in Buenos Aires where he said that there was no cause justified the looting of stores, attacking the security forces, or torching of property. Macron totally fails to comprehend that the violence is building frustration that historically is necessary to mature into a revolution. This is not a political movement. This is economically driven. The police said that violent far-right and far-left groups had infiltrated the yellow vests movement in a desperate effort to call them extremists. These protests began as a backlash against Macron’s fuel tax hikes, but have tapped into a growing resentment...

Violent protests ravaged Paris, France on Saturday when French citizens became upset about rising taxes and the high cost of living, USA Today reported. According to police, 133 were injured and 412 were arrested. This isn't the first time violent protests hit the capital. In fact, this is the third straight weekend that violence has taken place in Paris. The violence initially began on Nov. 17th when a gas tax increase was announced. The riots that took place this weekend, however, have been considered to be the worst one in a generation.French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday visited the Arc de...

PARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Rioters ran amok across central Paris on Saturday, torching cars and buildings, looting shops, smashing windows and clashing with police in the worst unrest in more than a decade, posing a dire challenge to Emmanuel Macron's presidency. The authorities were caught off guard by the escalation in violence after two weeks of nationwide protests against fuel taxes and living costs, known as the "yellow vest" movement after fluorescent jackets kept in all vehicles in France. In Paris, police said they had arrested almost 300 people while 110 were injured, including 20 members of the security...