France's "yellow vests" plan major protests on December 29

"The yellow vests are still mobilized," Laetitia Dewalle, spokeswoman for the "yellow vest" protest movement in France, said on December 27, according toAFP. A representative of the movement, Benjamin Cauchy, said that the seventh consecutive week of protests would take place on December 29, continuing on New Year's Eve, December 31, "to show that the mobilization will not end in the new year."

Cauchy also warned that if the concessions offered by President Emmanuel Macron so far are not fulfilled, "we will have large-scale demonstrations at the end of January." Although the number of protesters across the country has dwindled significantly, thousands are still planning to take part in what they call a "festive and non-violent event" on New Year's Eve.

Earlier in the day, Paris city officials said the New Year's Eve celebrations on the Champs-Elysees would go ahead, despite the planned "yellow vest" protests. Fireworks and a New Year's Eve musical show on the Champs-Elysees with a "brotherhood" theme are still being planned. Tens of thousands of tourists and locals are expected to attend the event.

Since November, Champs-Elysees has been the focus of successive violent protests against the Macron government over plans to raise fuel taxes and improve people's lives, culminating in the Arc de Triomphe being vandalized on December 1. Tens of thousands of people have participated in protests across France.

Macron sought to defuse the crisis in mid-December by announcing a 10 billion euro ($11.4 billion) package of measures to support pensioners and low-income workers. The move split the “yellow vest” movement, with moderates willing to engage in dialogue with the government, while others continued to press for more protests, saying the government’s response was inadequate.

Priscillia Ludosky, who launched a petition against fuel tax hikes in May and played a major role in sparking the "yellow vest" movement, said Macron's measures were "insufficient and devoid of any real desire to improve the living standards of the French".

The "yellow vest" movement is considered the biggest crisis that President Macron has faced during his term. The movement then spread to many European countries. Thousands of people marched in Rome, Italy, on December 15 to protest the government's new anti-immigration law. In Austria, about 17,000 people in Vienna took to the streets to protest immigration policy, and demand a shorter working day and the abolition of austerity measures.

In the UK, on ​​December 14, pro-Brexit activists wearing yellow vests marched on Westminster Bridge, causing traffic congestion.

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