Yellow Vests leader: Fuel tax moratorium is crumbs, we want the baguette

The French government’s six-month moratorium on fuel tax hikes wasn’t what the Yellow Vests wanted, the protest's leader has said. People want "the baguette", not crumbs, and will take to the streets again on Saturday, he said.

“We didn’t want a suspension, we want the past increase in the tax on fuels to be canceled immediately," Benjamin Cauchy, the organizer of the Yellow Vests movement, told BFM TV.

By announcing the half-year moratorium, government is “taking the French people for a ride” in an attempt to win time, he added.

The French are not sparrows and don’t want the crumbs the government is giving them. They want the baguette.

In another interview with La Depeche, Cauchy was asked if the violent protests, which saw more than 260 people injured and caused several deaths across France over the weekend, will continue. “The Yellow Vests wish to act on Saturday,” he replied. 

However, he said that the movement must become “pacifist and non-violent”, as it used to be before the massive unrest started three weeks ago.

The group needs support from the French people and a peaceful sit-in would have a greater impact on the government than rioting, the protest leader said.

READ MORE: 80yo woman dies after being hit in face by projectile amid Yellow Vest protests

Earlier on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on live TV that the planned increases in gasoline and diesel taxes as well as hikes in gas and electricity tariffs will be suspended for six months.

Philippe pointed out that the tax issue shouldn’t put “the nation’s unity in danger,” also announcing that the national debate on how to tackle climate change without burdening the wallets of French citizens will begin in mid-December.

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