A defiant Emmanuel Macron used his New Year's Eve address to hit out at the 'hateful mob' on the fringes of the Yellow Vest movement.
But the French President vowed to press on with economic reforms which were thrown into question after he axed his fuel tax hike and announced billions in aid for the low-paid to try to tame the revolt.
In a 16-minute speech, he insisted the French government 'can do better' at improving citizens' lives as Yellow Vest protesters again took to the streets across the country.
President Macron mobilised thousands of police officers to quell demonstrations on the streets of Paris
A yellow vest protester watches illuminations over the Arc de Triomphe before the New Year's Day celebrations
French police secure the area as revelers begin to gather along the Champs-Elysees
'We can do better and must do better,' Macron said from the Elysee palace while urging the French to 'accept the reality' that increased public spending was not the answer to their problems.
Macron's speech had been keenly awaited, coming at the end of a torrid six weeks for the centrist, whose leadership has been severely rattled by six weeks of demonstrations that have repeatedly turned violent.
On Monday, he attempted to turn the page on the crisis and start 2019 on an upbeat note.
'I believe in us,' he said.
Citing hopes for more 'truth, dignity and hope' in 2019, he urged the French: 'Let's stop running ourselves down and making believe that France is a country where solidarity doesn't exist.'
Demonstrators clad in high-visibility yellow vests again gathered in Paris on Monday evening
A group of yellow vest protesters holds a board reading People requires justice
'We live in one of the biggest economies in the world, with some of the best infrastructure in the world, we pay little or nothing for our children's schooling and we are treated by excellent doctors at some of the lowest costs in the developed world,' he said.
While acknowledging the need for improved public services, particularly in rural areas where the yellow vest movement sprang up over anger at fuel taxes, he noted that public spending already amounted to over half of the country's output.
As he spoke, demonstrators clad in high-visibility yellow vests again gathered in Paris and other big cities to demand more measures in favour of the working poor and a greater say for ordinary people in the running of the country, in the form of citizen-sponsored referendums.
Several dozen protesters joined tens of thousands of tourists gathered on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris - the scene of pitched battles between protesters and police on several consecutive weekends before Christmas - for a New Year's fireworks display.
French police officers dressed in riot gear stand guard near the Eiffel Tower and on the Champs Elysee yesterday
People march during a 'yellow vest' (gilets jaunes) anti-government demonstration in the northern city of Lille on December 29
In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, dozens of 'yellow vests' occupied a major bridge.
As in Paris, the protesters said they intended the evening to be one of celebration, not of unrest. The protests look set to continue into 2019.
Nearly 150,000 security force members were deployed around the country to keep the peace.
Macron took aim at the radical fringe of the yellow vests and their supporters on the far right and hard left, saying 'some who claim to speak in the name of the people' merely acted as the 'megaphones of a hateful mob'.
French yellow vest protesters run out of speed cameras to destroy
French yellow vest protesters have run out of speed cameras to destroy in some parts of the country after weeks of demonstrations, it has been reported.
There have been relentless attacks to the point where no fixed cameras are working in the Vaucluse department and just three out of 49 are functioning in Lot-et-Garonne.
It comes just weeks after it was reported that half of France's speed cameras are out of action because of widespread acts of vandalism during yellow vest protests.
French yellow vest protesters have run out of speed cameras to destroy in some parts of the country after weeks of demonstrations, it has been reported. Pictured: A spray painted camera in Bonnemain, western France
A car drives past the ruins of a speed camera trashed in Ajaccio on the French Mediterranean Island of Corsica. Vandals dumped a motorised scooter on top of the device
By December 11, The Local reported, 250 of France's 3,275 fixed speed cameras had been damaged beyond repair while 1,500 more had been damaged to a point where they were out of order.
It will take 'millions of euros' to fix the devices, France's Road Safety association said.
The Newspaper.com, which highlighted the Vaucluse and Lot-et-Garonne figures, gave examples of some of the techniques used to put cameras out of use.
One, in Domalain, was covered with a blue gift box on Christmas Day, while another in Renty was 'blinded' with spraypaint for the tenth time this year.
Others around the country have been wrapped in clingfilm or torched, while over the border in Germany, protesters turned one camera into a giant candy cane.
'Those who claim to speak for the people, but in fact speak for a hateful mob - attacking elected representatives, security forces, journalists, Jews, foreigners, homosexuals - are quite simply the negation of France,' he said.
'Republican order will be ensured with no leniency,' he vowed, listing 'lawmakers, the security forces, journalists, Jews, foreigners, homosexuals' as being the objects of physical and verbal attacks.
He also vowed not to be swayed from his reform agenda, which was thrown into question after he jettisoned his controversial fuel tax hike and announced 10 billion euros in aid for the low-paid to try to tame the revolt.
Among the priorities he listed for 2019 were trimming the bloated public sector, as well as the unemployment and pension systems.
French riot police holding up protective shields covered in yellow paint as they clash with protesters in Toulouse over the weekend
A protestor runs next to burning trash during a yellow vest anti-government demonstration in Nantes
With an eye on European Parliament elections in May, he also announced plans to put forward a 'renewed European project' based on 'regaining control of our lives', citing fiscal justice, agriculture, migration and security as areas where joint EU action was needed.
The 'yellow vest' movement has waned dramatically in the last fortnight but the prospect of protesters mixing in with revellers poses a challenge for the police.
France remains on high alert due to the threat of terrorism, with the latest attack dating to December 11 when five people were killed by a gunman at a Christmas market in Strasbourg.
New Year's Eve also sees many French youths from poverty-wracked areas of the country set fire to hundreds of cars in what has become a grim annual tradition that ties up police officers.
A new poll out on Monday showed that 31 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of Macron, down one point in a month.
Protesters are still campaigning against harsh tax conditions imposed by Emmanuel Macron's government
Protesters walk up stairs as tear gas is fired near the Passy area in Paris on Sunday afternoon
The figure was sharply higher than other polls, however, some of which show him with an approval rating in the low 20s.
The president faced fresh embarrassment on Monday from his disgraced ex-bodyguard who revealed that he continued to exchange messages regularly with the president even after he was forced out of his job in July over a scandal.
Alexandre Benalla caused severe embarrassment for Macron after he was caught on video roughing up protesters at a demonstration in May while wearing a police helmet.
Last week it was revealed that, despite being sacked from his job, he has continued to travel widely on a diplomatic passport.
President Macron is due to address the nation on New Years Eve to show 'authority and togetherness', his office said, as he looks to start 2019 on a more positive footing
The yellow vests movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/01/defiant-macron-uses-his-new-year-address-to-call-yellow-vests-a-hateful-mob/
Main photo article A defiant Emmanuel Macron used his New Year’s Eve address to hit out at the ‘hateful mob’ on the fringes of the Yellow Vest movement.
But the French President vowed to press on with economic reforms which were thrown into question after he axed his fuel tax hike and announced ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/01/01/8003474-6542863-image-a-21_1546307285352.jpg
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