'Yellow Vest' protests continue for 13th weekend in France
PARIS -- Thousands of "Yellow Vest" protesters marched through Paris and other French cities on Saturday for the 13th consecutive weekend in a row, although their number was lower than those of previous weeks.
The French Interior Ministry said 51,400 people protested country-wide, versus 58,600 on Feb 2. In Paris, 4,000 converged to the Champs Elysees Avenue, down from 10,500 at a similar rally last week.
Despite determination of some to continue protests, the action has waned from its Nov 17 peak when the turnout was at 287,710.
Following changes to soften his reforms and shake off the tag of "the president of the rich" via 11-billion-euro ($12.46 billion)-worth concessions, Macron is likely to be able to ride out the storm.
Struggling to heed of public anger, he has been touring French cities, since he has launched national consultation on Jan 15, to promote his far-reaching social and economic reforms which has increased opposition and brought angry people to streets.
Since then, the social action appears to be losing steam, as some of the movement's representatives have said they were ready to halt the protests and join the table of negotiation with the government.
Opinion polls showed a recovery in Macron's approval ratings. The latest survey conducted by Ifop on Wednesday saw the president's public support improving by 6 percentage points to 34 percent in February from a month earlier.
The pollster also found that more people thought he was close to the French concerns and that his economic policy was good, with the score rose by 7 and 3 points respectively.
The "Yellow Vest" movement started as a campaign against surge in fuel prices in November 2018. It, then, evolved to social rebellion demanding the president to step down, which posed a serious test to his authority.
Meanwhile, the spontaneous movement remains amorphous with no leader and internal rifts. Some "Yellow Vest" protesters have proposed a list of candidates to run in the election for the European Parliament in May, a move called as a betrayal by other supporters.
