French President Emmanuel Macron will attempt to convince his people that they will gain real benefits from his economic reforms as he seeks to defuse protests that that might endanger his career, experts said.
Tian Dewen, a researcher of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Macron's economic reforms have yet to win over the public, citing the increasing fuel prices that have caused upset among the French people and triggered a violent demonstration at the weekend.
Scattered protests continued on Monday as drivers blocked roads from the Pyrenees to Brittany in Paris.
Macron promised to explain on Tuesday his plans for weaning France off fossil fuels, which he cites as the reason for the tax hikes.
"This unrest has posed serious challenges to Macron," Tian said. "It means that the grassroots have been hugely unhappy about the government's policies, and Macron himself."
He said the unrest would also affect Macron's future policies and whether he will stick to the route he had previously set for the reforms.
Cui Hongjian, director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said that in France there are a growing number of opposing voices who believe Macron should be more focused on short-term ambitions rather than long-term plans.
Shadow
If the protests are not handled properly, they will cast a shadow over Macron's future political career, he said.
Anti-government protesters clashed with French police on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday, leaving the area cloaked in tear gas and smoke from fires after demonstrators burned barricades. They also smashed the windows of luxury shops and uprooted traffic lights.
Demonstrators were wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that have come to symbolize their weeklong protests against Macron, who they have called on to resign.
Twenty-four people were injured, five of them police officers, and 130 people were arrested, the city police department and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.
After the violence, Macron thanked police on Twitter and strongly criticized demonstrators who attacked or intimidated citizens, journalists and politicians.
The interior ministry counted 106,000 protesters across France on Saturday, with 8,000 in Paris. The number is much smaller than the national tally of 282,000 in the Nov 17 protests.
The French government cast blame for the protests on far-right politician Marine Le Pen, claiming she egged them on. Le Pen rejected that accusation.
