Express: FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Thursday urged “yellow vest” militants not to hold a fifth round of demonstrations this weekend as police search for a second day for the gunman who launched an attack at a Christmas market in eastern France.
Anti-government militants have vowed to stage a fifth weekend of protests, but their plans could be put on hold after three people were killed by a terrorist near a Christmas market. Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux asked the protesters to be “reasonable” in light of the strain on security forces after the deadly attack in Strasbourg on Tuesday night. He said: “They have expressed their anger and this anger has been heard. We are now asking [yellow vests] to be reasonable and to not take to the streets on Saturday.”
Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez echoed his plea, calling for a “restoration of normality” following weeks of unrest. People had social and economic demands, and “these demands have been heard,” Mr Nuñez told France Inter radio on Wednesday.
Conservative opposition leader Laurent Wauquiez, for his part, urged protesters to “stop damaging France”. He said: “We cannot build anything on chaos.”
Police across several European countries have launched a manhunt for the gunman, a 29-year-old Strasbourg native who killed three and injured at least 13 after opening fire on shoppers. One victim has been declared brain-dead.
The suspected gunman, identified as Chérif Chekatt, is thought to have been shot in the arm after exchanging fire with counter-terrorism soldiers, but managed to escape and has not been seen since.
French police have issued a wanted poster for Mr Chekatt, who was on a watchlist as a potential security threat. Authorities say he was known to have developed radical religious views while serving multiple prison sentences. He has at least 27 convictions in four European countries.
Mr Griveaux said: “Our security forces have been deployed extensively these past few weeks… It would be better if everyone could go about their business calmly on Saturday, before the year-end celebrations with their families, instead of demonstrating and putting our security forces to work once again.”
Asked by Cnews whether police wanted Mr Chekatt dead or alive, Mr Griveaux said: “It doesn’t matter. The best thing would be to find him as quickly as possible.”
So-called “yellow vests,” known for their high-visibility safety jackets, have called for a fifth round of protests this Saturday against Mr. Macron.
The protests kicked off on November 17 over rising fuel costs, but quickly snowballed into a citizen-led revolt over declining living standards as well as Mr. Macron’s perceived loftiness and reforms favouring the urban elite.
The appeal came as authorities announced that a sixth person had died since the start of the protests, after a 23-year-old “yellow vest” was hit by a truck on a roundabout near the southern town of Avignon late on Wednesday.
Before Tuesday’s attack in Strasbourg, the government had cancelled a carbon tax on fossil fuels scheduled for January, a key demand of the protesters, who mainly live in rural areas and rely heavily on their cars to get to work.
Mr. Macron also announced an increase in the minimum wage, tax relief on overtime work and tax cuts for many pensioners in a televised address to the French on Monday night.
Last Saturday nearly 90,000 police were mobilized for the protests, which drew 136,000 people nationwide. But many demonstrations were hijacked by thugs and anti-government extremists, and quickly spiralled into violence.
While some of the movement’s representatives have said they are open to halting the protests to negotiate with the government, others have said that Mr. Macron’s concessions are not enough and have called for more street action.
Our comment:
Civil unrest is predicted to be a feature of the end times. Though the protestors did convene again over the weekend, their protests were considerably muted. Many vowed to reignite the protests in the near future.
Prophetic Link:
“All the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; … the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.” Maranatha, page 146
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25