No French president or prime minister over the past 50 years has survived a political crisis like that in which Emmanuel Macron has become engulfed with the ‘gilets jaunes’ – Yellow Vest – movement, which is calling for improved living conditions for low- and middle-income earners, and increased participation of citizens in political decision making. In this analysis of the crisis, François Bonnet argues why Macron, in order to save his five-year term in office, appears to have little other choice than to return to the urns.
Since French President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address to the nation on December 10th, when he announced measures intended to appease the snowballing revolt of the so-called ‘Yellow Vest’ nationwide protests, he and his prime minister Édouard Philippe have been caught deeper and deeper into a quagmire of agitation.
