French transport minister Elisabeth Borne has announced that France will impose as of 2020 an 'eco tax' on airline passenger's flight costs for travel leaving France, ranging from 1.5 euros on inter-Europe destinations to 18 euros for business class passengers travelling beyond EU countries, and which is intended to fund investment in less polluting travel.
One day after announcing a six-month freeze on the eco-tax that first prompted nationwide protets against his government's economic policies, and just hours after French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said he was prepared to reconsider the tax if other solutions could be found, the Elysée Palace said that Philippe and President Emmanuel Macron “both wished the increase in the carbon tax be removed” from the budget for 2019.
Despite government promises of millions of euros in aid and a new 'pact for the future' for the region, the people of Brittany continue to protest against job cuts and the planned eco-tax – even though ministers have 'suspended' it. One of the leaders of this rebellion is a local mayor called Christian Troadec. Mediapart's Rachida El Azzouzi profiles this straight-talking left-wing leader, then interviews him to find out what is behind this upswell of regional anger and why the movement has chosen to adopt as a symbol the red hats worn by Breton demonstrators who protested against a tax imposed by King Louis XIV back in 1675...
