France

The ninth weekend of the gilet jaune protest movement was a mixed result for Emmanuel Macron. The nationwide demonstrations were relatively peaceful with only minor skirmishes between protestors and police, but numbers were up, with a total of 84,000 taking to the streets, 34,000 more than the previous Saturday. This is an impressive figure given that we are in the depth of the northern hemisphere winter, but what are rain, sleet and sub-zero temperatures when the future of one's country is at stake? With that in mind Macron launches his Big Debate on Tuesday in the hope that consultation will supplant confrontation and a consensus can be reached behind which the country can unite and move forward. The odds of that happening appear to be slim.

Twelve months ago Le Journal du Dimanche published an opinion poll in which Emmanuel Macron had an approval rating of 52 per cent. A fortnight ago the same paper ran a poll in which the president's popularity stood at 23 per cent. Where has it gone so wrong for the man once likened among sections of the French press to a cross between Jupiter and Christ? More to the point how could The Spectator get it so wrong in running a piece last December entitled 'Macron is becoming the darling of the Deplorables'? I can only assume that when I wrote that article, in particular the line about Macron having 'a wise head on those young political shoulders', I had come from a long Christmas lunch. In my defence I would like to point out that I did temper my praise with some cautious prognosis.

Emmanuel Macron spoke to the French people for thirteen minutes on Monday evening. It was an uncharacteristically sombre address from the president, one in which he admitted he had to take his 'share of responsibility' for the anger that provoked the yellow vest movement. As well as conceding he 'might have hurt people with my words', Macron also announced a series of measures that he hopes will defuse the discontent of his people and bring an end to the violent chaos across the country that has cost retailers alone upwards of €1b since it began on November 17. An additional €100 a month will be added to the minimum wage and pensioners receiving less than €2,000-a-month will be exempt from social security taxes scheduled to take effect next year.

Paris is not burning. Or, only a little bit is burning this evening. President Emmanuel Macron flooded the zone with twice as many police as last week. Then, there was the dawn roundup of hundreds of known troublemakers. Kettling the gilets jaunes in the Champs Elysée was a good way of preventing them from getting up to mischief on the side streets. And there were armoured personnel carriers parked at the Arc de Triomphe, should anyone doubt the government’s determination. Macron may claim to have won this round but, like Pyrrhus, one other such victory would utterly undo him. Whatever he says when he breaks his silence tomorrow, the optics remain terrible. Shops have been looted. Cars are still burning. The television images have been terrible.

Marine Le Pen spent last Saturday commenting on the scenes from the Champs-Elysées as the latest Gilets Jaunes demonstration turned violent. She also had the opportunity to respond to Christophe Castaner, the interior minister who, as cobbles rained down on the heads of the riot police, accused Le Pen of inciting the far-right to go on the rampage. Le Pen rejected the allegations, saying she had done no such thing; and anyway, as far as the National Rally leader was concerned, the people running amok in the capital weren't from the far-right.

Out and about in Paris on Saturday I passed scores of protestors on their way to the Champs-Élysées to vent their fury against Emmanuel Macron. Wearing their gilet jaunes (yellow vests), they were angry, determined and overwhelmingly white and middle-aged. The nationwide protest that pulled in nearly 300,000 demonstrators has been billed as a pushback against rising fuel tax but it goes much deeper than that; it's the revolt of the people against a president they believe holds them in contempt. As one demonstrator told Le Figaro: 'Macron is the president of the rich and not the poor. He should think also about the poor.' Macron rarely thinks about the poor, except to insult them.