The demonstrations of French yellow vests were an "earthquake" for some companies

According to a parliamentary report, the Yellow Vest protest movement has had a relatively moderate impact on the whole of the French economy, although some companies and sectors have suffered considerable damage, even permanent.

The Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly was tasked with calculating the direct and indirect economic impacts of the weekly Saturday demonstrations held in November against the introduction of a tax on gasoline, which have turned into a more general anti-government movement.

The report concluded that the "total macroeconomic cost" of violence around demonstrations rose to 0.1 percent of GDP in the last quarter of 2018, a relatively low figure. However, he added that the impact on cities and businesses has been considerable.

"The cost of the crisis is considerable, if not permanent, for some companies or cities," the report says, adding that many small businesses, already facing economic problems, will not be able to recover.

Small businesses most affected
One of the two lawmakers in charge of the report, Roland Lescure, of the ruling party, LaRem, called the demonstrations "earthquake" for some companies and cities, already struggling with economic difficulties.

"What has suffered is not the big international companies," said Wednesday Jean-René Cazeneuve, also of LaRem, at a press conference. "It is the weakest and most fragile city centers that have been hit the hardest."

An ironic conclusion, given that the protest movement arose from the grievances of the most economically weakened parts of the country.

Exact numbers
The drop in the number of visitors to downtown areas on Saturdays has cost some businesses 20 to 30% of their revenue and shopping centers have suffered losses "in the range of two billion dollars. 39 euros, according to the report. This includes about 850 million euros of lost revenue for cafes, hotels and restaurants.

Damage to public property cost cities 30 million euros, and the report pointed to other costs, such as police overtime or the 3000 radars damaged since the beginning of the movement, which "could cost 71 EUR million 'to be repaired or replaced.

The report presented six proposals to the commission, including extending the government's special measures to the most affected companies and continuing efforts to revitalize the most-affected downtowns.