Support for France's "Yellow Vest" movement continues unabated: poll

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-08 00:43:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan
Video PlayerClose

PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A majority of French people continue to support the "Yellow Vest" movement despite President Emmanuel Macron's series of proposed measures to quell public anger, a survey showed on Thursday.

A YouGov poll conducted for the HuffPost and CNews found that 64 percent of the 1,037 respondents supported the social actions that started on Nov. 17, 2018 to denounce the French government's "unfair" fiscal policies and demand higher wages.

The poll showed that 52 percent of respondents thought that the street protests should continue during the three-month national consultation that Macron had launched in January to respond to the French public's diverse complaints.

The leaderless "Yellow Vest" movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by the protesters, began on social media last November in response to the French carbon tax increase, which Macron had said was necessary to combat climate change.

Since then, the movement has evolved into an uprising denouncing a squeeze on household spending and the high living costs associated with the president's reforms, which the protesters say favor the rich and offer little to the underprivileged rural populations.

The government has sought to quell the uprising by earmarking 11 billion euros (12.49 billion U.S. dollars) to bolster purchasing power, raise wages and help motorists switch to more eco-friendly vehicles.

Despite the series of concessions, the "Yellow Vest" weekend protests continue across France. The most recent demonstration, on Feb. 2, had 58,600 participants.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105091378053841