The announced six-month suspension in France of fuel duties rise is too short and will only prolong the inevitable unless extended to at least one year, Rodolphe Kujawa, an activist with the anti-tax protest movement, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2018) The announced six-month suspension in France of fuel duties rise is too short and will only prolong the inevitable unless extended to at least one year, Rodolphe Kujawa, an activist with the anti-tax protest movement, told Sputnik on Tuesday."I think that the delay has to be much longer. We need to freeze the tax for at least one year," he said, adding this would prove the authorities were "really taking time to think things through to do it better."
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the measure on Tuesday after weeks of violent anti-fuel tax protests that have escalated to nationwide action against a range of economic policies. Four people have died since the unrest began.
Kujawa, from the "yellow vests" movement, called so for wearing this piece of garment, said people now wanted a say in the policy making and an end to unpopular reforms.
"I think it won't be enough to calm it down because people want more today. Six months is time, but people will think it's prolonging the inevitable," he said.
Kujawa added a year-long wait was likely to come with a bigger price tag but a shorter time would only split the movement between those ready to accept the pause and those determined to get better terms.
"It risks costing a lot to France, but it's for the best after. Even if freezing the tax has a price, it's a price of something best ... The problem is that the French people lost confidence in politics," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the tax hike was part of France's ecological transition. His rating hit a new low on Tuesday, according to an Ifop poll, with only 23 percent now having a favorable opinion of him.
