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Emmanuel Macron officially launches an important national debate before mayors and local representatives at Grand Bourgtheroulde, January 15, 2018 – AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron called for a "taboo" dialogue on Tuesday to open an important national debate to try to defuse the "yellow jackets" protests.
This debate is "open to all issues … there should be no taboos," Macron said during a meeting with 600 mayors and local representatives in Grand Bourgtherould, a small town in Normandy.
With this national dialogue, the president tries to cool down the manifestations of "yellow jackets", a group of French who has protested across the country since mid-November against the social and fiscal policy of the government, which he considers favoring the rich.
"I think we can convert this moment when France is going through an opportunity," said the 41-year-old president. "We have to constantly ask for people's opinions, I do not think it's a waste of time, nor time to stop reforms, because people want change."
He also reiterated his request to end the "violence" that has spotted some protests. "Anger has never brought solutions," he said.
This meeting, which lasted 6:30 am and during which the President spoke at 3:30 am, marked the beginning of two months of national dialogue that will be structured around four main themes: the tax system and public action, the functioning of the state and the community environment and democracy.
In this first debate, Emmanuel Macron made it clear, however, that he was not in agreement with the establishment of the Referendum Citizen Initiative (RIC), one of the main demands of "yellow jackets".
"When there is a difficult decision to make, it is often the representatives who take it because they are part of the impositions, and difficult decisions are taken by referendum," the French president insisted.
"See what our British friends are living," he explained.
"People voted not from false information and lies, and its representatives are not able to enforce it," he added, while the British parliament categorically rejects the agreement on Brexit negotiated with Brussels.
The proposals obtained will serve to build "a new contract for the nation", the president explained on Sunday in a letter open to the French, in which he promised publicity one month after the conclusion of the consultation.
– Feeling of abandonment –
The authorities intensified security measures during Macron's visit to Grand Bourgtheroulde, a city of 3,500 inhabitants 30 kilometers from Rouen, where a demonstration of Saturday's "yellow jackets" ended in clashes with the police.
Macron, who avoided public meetings after whistling during two public outings in December, listened for just over two hours to the concerns of 20 mayors, who faced issues of purchasing power, tax justice, pension level and fall of public services in rural areas.
Many councilors have mentioned a sense of abandonment by states in isolated rural areas, with a reduction in public services and a growing chasm in relation to Paris and other large cities.
"We feel like there's a two-speed France and we wonder if we're not in the B category," said Macron Jean-Paul Legendre, mayor of Iville, a town of 500 residents near Rouen.
"We feel isolated even if only 100 miles from Paris," said Jean-Noel Montier, mayor of Mesnil-en-Ouche.
– Resume the initiative –
The police used tear gas to disperse 100 protesters, many wearing yellow jackets, who gathered on a road in front of Grand Bourgtheroulde to welcome the Macron caravan.
"Macron, stop it!" He shouted a little in the crowd.
"It's symbolically important to be here, it's the first day of debate, we'll continue here, we'll be your shadow," said one of them, Thierry-Paul Valette.
Macron's task will be hard to convince the French, many of whom do not see any use in this discussion. 40% of citizens want to take part in the talks, but only 34% believe they can help out of the serious political crisis that France is experiencing, according to an Elabe poll for BFMTV.
However, the stakes are high for the President, who must demonstrate that, despite his limited political experience, he is able to restore public order and resume the initiative four months after the European elections in which the ultra-right Marine Le Pen spoke in "defeating it."
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