Macron to speak to France amid mounting protest violence on WTOP| PARIS (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to speak to the nation at last, after increasingly violent protests against his leadership. Macron is meeting Monday morning with local and national political leaders, unions\u2026<\/b>
\nPARIS (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to speak to the nation Monday at last, after increasingly violent and radicalized protests against his leadership and a long silence that aggravated the anger. Many protesters only want one thing: for him to declare \u201cI quit.\u201d
That\u2019s an unlikely prospect. Instead Macron is expected to announce a series of measures to reduce taxes and boost purchasing power for the masses who feel his presidency has favored the rich. He\u2019s being forced to act after four weeks of \u201cyellow vest\u201d protests that started in struggling provinces and spread to rioting in the capital that has scared tourists and foreign investors and shaken France to the core.
Macron met Monday morning in his presidential palace with local and national politicians, unions and business leaders to hear their concerns. In the evening, he will give a national televised address, his first public words in more than a week.
Among steps the government is considering are abolishing taxes on overtime, speeding up tax cuts and an end-of-year bonus for low-income workers. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Monday the government could delay some payroll taxes, but expressed resistance to restoring the wealth tax or lowering taxes for retirees, among protesters\u2019 demands. He stressed that the measures should focus on helping the working classes.
\u201cWe are ready to make any gesture\u201d that works, he said on RTL radio. \u201cWhat is important now is to put an end to the crisis and find peace and unity in the country again.\u201d
Fallout from the protests so far could cost France 0.1 percent of gross domestic product in the last quarter of the year, Le Maire warned. \u201cThat means fewer jobs, it means less prosperity for the whole country,\u201d he said.
The \u201cyellow vest\u201d protests began as a movement against a rise in fuel taxes that Macron eventually abandoned, but have mushroomed to include a plethora of sometimes contradictory demands \u2014 increasingly including Macron\u2019s resignation.
\u201cMacron is there for the rich, not for all the French,\u201d 68-year-old retiree Jean-Pierre Meunuer said at Saturday\u2019s protests in Paris.
Some members of the movement are already planning new action next Saturday.
Graffiti throughout the French capital singles Macron out for criticism, reflecting a national sense that the 40-year-old centrist former banker is arrogant and out of touch. Macron however has appeared determined to continue his course, and no presidential or parliamentary elections are planned until 2022.
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux warned Sunday that a \u201cmagic wand\u201d won\u2019t solve all the problems of the protesters.
Paris tourist sites reopened Sunday, while workers cleaned up debris from protests that left widespread damage in the capital and elsewhere. At least 71 people were injured in Paris on Saturday, fewer than the week before but still a stunning figure. French media reported 136,000 protesters nationwide on Saturday, similar to the previous week.
Nearly 1,000 people were being held in custody after the Saturday protests in the French capital.
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Sylvie Corbet and Elaine Ganley contributed.
Copyright \u00a9 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
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