Posted on 12/04/2018 3:56:36 AM PST by Sub-Driver
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 social unrest unseen in recent years that quickly became a full-blown crisis.
For the better part of three weeks, protesters clad in high-visibilty yellow vests took to the streets across the country. In Paris especially, the scenes were particularly violent, with protesters defacing monuments, torching cars and smashing shop windows. The government has weighed the possibility of imposing a state of emergency to quell the unrest
Tuesdays announcement a six-month suspension of the proposed taxes represented a major reversal for a government that had initially stood its ground. President Emmanuel Macron, who won the French presidential election in a landslide in 2017, has struggled to maintain his popularity, with critics accusing him of being out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I'd call it a pause by the government to reload. Hope the gilets jaunes prepare for incoming.
AC, from the pics and vid I’ve seen, most of the protesters looked like working class, not layabouts and/or welfare queens.
Nothing is ‘temporary’ with gov’t; once it’s a law, it’s permanent, in one form or another.
France would do better to permanently suspend Macron.
Remember—The British suspended the Stamp Act too—but it was too little, too late. The Colonists took up their muskets and built a new nation. Maybe its time for a Sixth Republic in France. Where is a new Napoleon when you need him? This could be the end of the EU.
Funny how the US media fails to mention the dismal ratings of Macron (while they laud him) and Merkle (while they laud her), etc...
The US media is worse than Pravda, not because they are forced to print drivel...no, they are worse because tehy CHOOSE to print drivel!!
You nailed it. Unless they electorate drives Macron from office, the tax will be back (and probably even then unless there is a real revolution).
If people believe the riots are about taxes, I have a bridge to sell them.
And note the timing. Six months means it's suspended until just AFTER the May 2019 EU Parliamentary elections
You think people will notice?
This is what happens when ordinary folks get a taste of global warming “solutions”.
(I know rent-an-anarchist is involved)
Look at the issues France is dealing with in terms of its massive welfare state, and talk to people who have done business there. See what they have to deal with in terms of government hiring rules, mandatory paid vacations, government-funded pensions, etc. The working class in France ARE the "layabouts" and "welfare queens."
Trump seems to becoming more popular overseas.
They should keep it up until abolished.
These elites are an arrogant bunch.
Six months. Protests will be easier to resume in the summer.
Next increase coming in Jan and more to follow as it an an incremental program.
There ya go. I was also trying to recall what Macron said about only hybrids and electrics in so many years.
Additionally the next increase was coming in Jan. More to follow on an incremental program.
Just more of the same we see here. Immigrants get paid to be alive and citizens matter not.
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