Two Thirds of French Back Yellow Vest Protests

Two in three people back the “yellow vest” protests in France, and nearly 80 percent reject measures proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as “insufficient”,

according to an opinion poll published Wednesday.

Sixty-six percent of those questioned said they supported the protests sparked by higher fuel taxes, underway for the past 12 days, which have seen hundreds of

thousands of people take to the streets wearing high-visibility yellow jackets.

Only 32 percent of respondents said they opposed the movement, which has caused economic disruption as demonstrators hold up road traffic, the survey conducted

by the Opinion Way group found.

The poll was carried out on Tuesday after Macron sought to defuse unrest by pledging a new mechanism to defer future tax rises if international oil prices are

increasing.

He also pledged a three-month public consultation aimed at producing a roadmap to help France transition to a low-carbon economy without penalising low-income

families.