French president Emmanuel Macron has given a long-awaited response to the yellow vest movement, reports the BBC.
Despite insisting that order must return, he acknowledged a "lack of trust" in the establishment.
He promised new measures to address this including tax cuts, a reform of the civil service and the introduction of proportional representation.
The speech was planned for April 15 but was postponed after the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
President Macron recognised that at the core of the movement were "fair demands".
Protests started in November over rises in fuel costs intended to fund eco-friendly projects.
These escalated into the gilets jaunes, or yellow vest movement, a national uprising against economic injustice in France.
When he was elected in 2017, Mr Macron vowed to fight "the forces of division that undermine France".