French President Emmanuel Macron has today caved in and suspended hated fuel tax hikes in a victory for the Yellow Vest protesters.
In a humiliating U-turn, the government said it was planning to freeze upcoming increases on regulated electricity and gas prices following emergency talks at the Elysee Palace.
Stricter vehicle emission controls set to kick in in January 2019 will also be suspended, one of the demands of the 'yellow vest' movement which erupted last month, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told MPs.
But Yellow Vest fuel protesters who have reduced Paris and other cities and towns to warzones over the past two weekends said their demonstrations would continue as they campaign for more tax reductions.
'It's a first step, but we don't want crumbs,' said Benjamin Cauchy, a spokesman for the movement, which takes its name from the high visibility yellow jackets that all motorists are expected to own in France.
'Demonstrations will continue as we fight for further demands,' said Mr Cauchy. He added that he had received '30 death threats' after pleading for his movement to halt its campaign of violence.
There were more than 400 arrests in Paris at the weekend, as thousands fought running battles with riot police.
Yellow Vest demonstrators were joined by sympathisers from the far-Right and the ulta-Left, as the anarchy lasted at least 12 hours.
National monuments including the Arc de Triomphe were sacked and other buildings were burnt out as looters stole thousands of pounds worth of goods from high-end boutiques around the Champs Elysee, and from bars and chemists.
There were calls for a State of Emergency to be announced, and for the Army to take to the streets, as some 4500 police in Paris at times lost all control of the streets.
Despite this, Mr Macron has pledged to carry on with his policy of increasing the price of petrol and diesel, in line with the Paris Climate Change agreement.
He had said there would be 'no possibility whatsoever' of his government backing down in the face of disturbances, but now he joins a long list of French presidents who have bowed down to rioters.
onservative leaders Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy were notorious for withdrawing unpopular policies because of street disturbances, as were their Socialist counterparts.
The Yellow Vests movements has widespread support across France after developing into an anti-establishment campaign.
The current spate of violence is considered the worst since the Spring of 1968, when President Charles de Gaulle's government feared a full-blown revolution.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron and Philippe's approval ratings have hit new lows as the protests gathered pace, according to an Ifop-Fiducial poll for Paris Match and Sud Radio published on Tuesday.
Macron's approval rating fell to 23 per cent in the poll conducted late last week, down six points on the previous month. Philippe's rating fell 10 points to 26 per cent.
The president's score matches the low charted by his predecessor Francois Hollande in late 2013, according to Paris Match. Hollande was then considered to be the least popular leader in modern French history.
The first 'yellow vest' demonstrations were held on November 17 to contest fuel-tax rises, and have since evolved into a broader protest movement and anti-Macron uprising.
It continued yesterday with riot police using tear gas to quell high school student protests across France. One shocking video showed police firing smoke grenades at teenagers who kicked them back at officers as violence escalated.
Another showed teenagers fleeing from police tear gas in Orleans while cars were set on fire outside a high school in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, where seven students were arrested following a walk-out.
Around 1,000 pupils, many wearing high-vis vests, demonstrated in the city of Nice, and photographs from another student protest in Bordeaux appear to show riot police using batons against teenagers.
Hundreds of schools across the country were totally or partially blocked by students piggybacking on the 'yellow vest' demonstrations to air frustration over new university entrance requirements.
President Macron's government want universities to be able to apply admissions criteria and select students on merits such as exam results or entrance exams for some oversubscribed degrees.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
