‘Yellow Vest’ women hold fresh anti-government protests across France
“Yellow Vest” women have held fresh anti-government marches in several cities across France, showing female faces of the social movement that has rattled the government of President Emanuel Macron.
Several hundred women wearing symbolic neon yellow jackets took to the streets on Sunday afternoon in Paris, Toulouse, Rennes and Lyon, waving yellow balloons and chanting slogans against Macron.
“Macron, you’re doomed, women are in the streets,” chanted the protesters, calling on the embattled president to step down.
The “Yellow Vest” movement initially erupted in November amid public outrage over a planned hike fuel prices. Macron later backed down and suspended the hike, but the protests did not stop and turned into a broader campaign against high costs of living blamed on Macron’s economic policies.
In Paris’ Bastille Square, the protesters carried signs and banners that read, “I am your sister,” “I am your colleague” and “I am your mother.”
“Today, I cannot make ends meet when I work and my husband, too. It’s not normal. I am here for my son because I say to myself…what will it be for the future generation if we do not start by opening our mouths?” said one protester.
A day earlier, some 50,000 people had returned to the streets. A group of protesters stormed a government ministry in Paris amid heavy clashes with police.
The fresh demonstrations come as Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has called for an end to the protests, saying “those who believe in democracy” should now say “that’s enough.”
In Rennes, protester Chloé Tessier said, “The government speaks of us as troublemakers, but today we are marching as the mothers, grandmothers, as daughters and sisters of all citizens, and we want to say that (...) our anger is legitimate.”
She added, “It is during social crises like this one that women's rights are the most threatened.”
The female-only protests mostly went peacefully, but scuffles broke out between police and protesters in Paris in the evening.
The “Yellow Vest” campaign, now in its eighth week, is said to be the biggest political crisis of Macron’s 20-month presidency and has brought his popularity ratings to an all-time low.
In recent weeks, some of the protests have turned into major riots described as the most violent clashes in France in decades.
Public anger appeared to have abated over the holiday period; however, the brief arrest on Wednesday of Eric Drouet, one of the leaders of the movement, seems to have rekindled resentment among his supporters.
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