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Macron is finally taking action to stop the "yellow vest" protesters

Hardcore groups of rioters looted shops and burned vehicles, and more than 1,700 people were taken into custody
Macron is finally taking action to stop the "yellow vest" protesters

France's embattled president Emmanuel Macron is finally dealing with the "yellow vest" crisis roiling his nation, holding emergency meetings and addressing the public Monday night in a plea for unity after a fourth weekend of violent protests.

Authorities said more than 136,000 so-called “yellow vest” protesters took to the streets of Paris and other cities around the country Saturday for “Act IV” of weekly actions by the disparate anti-government protest movement that originated in anger over a planned fuel tax hike.

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As hardcore groups of rioters looted shops and burned vehicles, police responded forcefully. More than 1,700 people were taken into custody, 900 of them in Paris — more than the 630 people who were arrested in last week’s protests nationwide. More than 260 people were injured, many from flash grenades fired by security forces.

After keeping a low public profile for much of the weeks-long crisis, Macron is now on the front foot in a bid to defuse the biggest threat to his presidency so far. On Monday, he held emergency meetings with representatives of five major trade unions and three employers' organizations. And on Monday evening, he is expected to appeal for calm and announce new measures to address the crisis in his address to the nation.

Speaking to France’s RTL radio Monday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said it was “the president's role to unify the country,” which he described as “deeply divided.”

Meanwhile, protests continued in high schools Monday, where students have been protesting proposed reforms to the baccalaureate university entrance exam. An Education Ministry spokeswoman said 40 schools were completely blockaded Monday, and another 80 affected.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about France’s yellow vests protest movement

On Sunday, the French government responded to tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump gloating about the demonstrations, linking the unrest to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the landmark 2015 deal reached by 195 nations —which Trump has pulled out of.

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“The Paris Agreement isn’t working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France. People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the environment,” he wrote, adding that protesters were chanting “We want Trump!”

While the protest movement was sparked in opposition to a proposed “green tax” on fuel, it hasn’t specifically targeted the Paris Agreement, as a number of French social media users pointed out. Meanwhile Matthew Gertz, senior fellow of Media Matters for America, pointed out that no French protesters had been chanting for Trump, and suggested the footage that likely prompted Trump’s claim actually came from a recent British far-right rally.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian responded with a message to Trump not to get involved. “We do not take domestic American politics into account and we want that to be reciprocated. I say this to Donald Trump and the French president says it too: leave our nation be,” he told French television Sunday.

The French government also announced Sunday it had opened an inquiry into the possible role of Russia in using social media to amplify the unrest.

According to the Alliance for Securing Democracy, about 600 Twitter accounts known for promoting pro-Kremlin views have become focused on the movement, using the French hashtag #giletsjaunes. Le Drian said Sunday an investigation was underway into whether the accounts were part of an attempt to ramp up the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the allegation Monday. “We have not interfered and will not interfere in the internal affairs of any countries, including France,” Peskov told reporters.

The protests, named after the hi-vis vests French drivers are required to keep in their cars, began last month against a planned hike on fuel taxes, before morphing into a broader movement channeling anger at Macron’s pro-business economic policies over rising living costs. Macron’s concessions so far, such as scrapping the controversial fuel tax hike last week, have failed to placate the movement, which draws supports from across the political spectrum.

Cover: French President Emmanuel Macron meets with representatives of trade unions, employers' organizations and local elected officials at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Macron is preparing to speak to the nation Monday at last, after increasingly violent and radicalized protests against his leadership and a long silence that aggravated the anger. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)