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Macron meets trade unions over 'yellow vests' crisis
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IANS | 11 Dec, 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday met key trade union leaders,
businessmen and senior ministers to address rising discontent in the
country amid the violent "yellow vests" protests that have challenged
his grip on power.
The emergency meeting took place at the Élysée
Palace in the morning and saw Macron, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe
and trade union leaders to attempt to come up with solutions to growing
social unrest.
The General Confederation of Labour's (CGT)
Director Phillipe Martínez, who attended the meeting, said in a
statement that he would not be used by the government to project an
image of dialogue when it wasn't acknowledging the plight of the people,
Efe news reported.
The CGT went on to say that it expected a
proposal of specific measures that could be put into place immediately,
in particular, a 20 per cent rise of the minimum wage bringing it up to
1,800 euros ($2,052) per annum, a hike in pensions and a "social
justice" reform to re-establish a wealth tax.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Mair said that the government rejected a 1.8 per cent minimum wage.
The
"gilet jaunes" ("yellow vests") demonstrations started as a protest
against plans to hike of fuel taxes but grew into broader
anti-government protests over time.
Macron put the fuel
increases on hold but the protests were not abated. About 1,723 people
were taken in for questioning and 1,220 were taken into custody during
last weekend, said the Interior Ministry.
Across the country, 135 people were reported injured.
The
French President is facing criticism with demonstrators marching
against the rise of living costs, the scrapping of the "fortune tax" and
accusations that the former banker has done little to address the
inequality in French society.
Further pressure grew over the
weekend with the police firing rubber bullets and hundreds of canisters
of tear gas at the demonstrators, some of whom set vehicles on fire
during Saturday's protests.
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