On Monday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an TV address to the nation that he declared a state of economic and social emergency in the country in response to the protests. He also asked the government to introduce a number of measures aimed at resolving the social and economic crisis in the country that provoked a wave of protest actions. In particular, Macron promised to increase the minimum wage, presented a measure of support for pensioners earning less than 2,000 euros per month, and asked the companies to pay an annual bonus to employees.
At the same time, 66 percent of respondents support the "yellow vests" and only 34 percent do not support them.
The majority of survey participants called anti-crisis measures proposed by the president a good response to the claims of the protesters, with 60 percent of them favouring abolition of taxes on annual bonuses and 68 percent favouring minimum wage increase. As many as 72 percent of respondents welcomed abolishing insurance premiums from low pensions, and 78 percent believe that abolishing overtime work taxation is good.
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At the same time, half of the respondents considered the president’s speech unconvincing. Another 49 percent of those surveyed appreciated Macron's appeal.
France has seen a wave of mass protests since mid-November, when the so-called yellow vest protesters — named after the obligatory attribute of French drivers — took to the streets to rally against rising fuel prices and a planned hike in tax on diesel and carbon fuels.
The yellow vest rallies have been marked by violent clashes with police officers, who have used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters.