MOSCOW - French President Emmanuel Macron called on Sunday for establishing order and accord in the country amid another wave of “yellow vests” rallies.
“The time has come for order, calm and harmony to prevail in the country. Our country needs it, it needs accord, unity and sincere commitment to important common goals. It is necessary to eliminate the existing differences”, Macron told the BFMTV broadcaster.
Being in Chad, the president stressed that he had constantly been in contacts with the Interior Minister of France, who closely followed the course of Saturday’s protests.
According to the latest data, the French police detained at least 220 people during Saturday’s protests across the country.
Protestors clash with riot police on December 8, 2018 in Bordeaux, southwestern France, during a demonstration against rising costs of living.
The yellow vest movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President’s policies and top-down style of governing.
The wave of the so-called yellow vest protests — named after the obligatory attribute of French drivers — started in mid-November. While the French government has scrapped its planned hike in diesel taxes, which is what initially sparked the protests, the “yellow vest” rallies have evolved into a broader movement against government policies and rising living costs. The rallies have been marked by violent clashes between protesters and the police.
