Macron refuses to cut French fuel tax as protests loom

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not give up on a fuel tax hike, despite nationwide planned nationwide protests this month and his popularity personal reaching a new floor.

Motorists are planning blockades and slowdowns in France on November 17 to protest fuel price increases, which increased by one-third last year, making it more difficult for Macron to defend hard-working workers .

In order to fight against climate change, his government voted to increase the carbon tax and decided to raise the price of diesel fuel, the most used motor fuel in France.

But the increases, decided at the end of 2017 at a time when crude oil prices were below 50 dollars a barrel, have become more difficult for consumers after oil has risen to more than 85 dollars a month. latest. This problem allowed Macron's popularity to be as low as 21% in a survey released last week.

The president, who embarked on a seven-day tour in northeastern France, said he had no plans to backtrack.

"I'd rather tax the essence than tax the work. The people who complain about rising fuel prices are the same as those who complain about the pollution and suffering of their children, "he told the regional press in an interview published Monday.

Macron's political rivals have seized the anger to turn the former investment banking banker into a member of the metropolitan elite who has nothing to do with those outside Paris.

"You have to be completely out of touch with reality so as not to understand that taxing fuel is taxing the working French," Conservative opposition leader Laurent Wauquiez told Twitter.

The protests, which according to an Odoxa poll are backed by 78% of the French, come at a time when Macron is seeking to resume the initiative after the summer political scandal and a series of Cabinet resignations.

His tour of the Northeast, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, gives the 40-year-old leader a chance to reconnect with some of the poorest and most isolated deindustrialization zones in France.

Disturbing fuel taxes as a business opportunity, the two largest chains of French hypermarkets Leclerc and Carrefour (CARR.PA) announced promotions to sell gasoline at cost.

Carrefour announced Monday that its special offer on gasoline prices would be valid until November 17, the date of the planned blockade. Leclerc will work until the end of the month.