Macron AWOL as France protests

French President Emmanuel Macron is nowhere to be found. He isn't hiding in the closet nor is he under the stairs curled up in a ball. But he is definitely not around as the government tries to calm the storm that began, in large part, due to his hike in gas taxes meant to deal with climate change.

Macron pirouetted into power last year, having emerged out of nowhere less than a year earlier. Hawking his brand of centrism, he sold himself to the world as a spokesman for multilateralism and internationalism against a nationalist wave moving through Europe.

Although he has been a public regular, including the UN and the U.S. Congress,  his absence this week has been conspicuous.

It's as if he is cowardly choosing to keep away from the exposure and scrutiny as his government tries to deal with the issues being protested by the “yellow jacket” protesters who have protested and even rioted in cities over France in recent weeks.

Macron stood firm initially on the tax hikes. He claimed they were necessary to combat climate change and France’s reliance on oil, which is a load of malarkey.  But on Wednesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that the government was scrapping the tax hike altogether. 

A government spokesman also suggested on French radio that a wealth tax that Macron ended last year could be re-introduced, in order to get the wealthy to pay everyone else's fair share.

An additional 89,000 cops and law enforcement personnel had been mobilized before Saturday to quell planned protests, and of these, 8,000 have been assigned to Paris, where the government shut down the Eiffel Tower for now as the protests don't seem to be slowing down in spite of government efforts.

But as ministers flash dance to prepare for the worst, Macron has been neither seen nor heard. His political opponents have taken advantage of his absence. 

Marine Le Pen, Macron's right-wing 2017 presidential election rival, urged Macron on Wednesday to meet with the protesters before Saturday.

"Do not hide at the Elysee, do not ask others to do what the French expect of you, listen to them, hear them before Saturday," Le Pen told reporters.

“Is Macron still in Argentina? He must surely have an opinion,” left-wing 2017 presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon tweeted, alluding to Macron’s recent visit to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

According to Reuters,  Macron plans to address the nation early next week if he doesn't chicken out. 

The Associated Press reported Friday that the French President spent all week holding closed-door meetings in the Elysee Palace, with his office, and announced that he would not speak before Saturday’s protests.

Although the government has scrapped the gas tax, the protests have morphed into a broader protest against Macron’s presidency because protesters need something to keep them happy, which is an angry protest. Macron's approval rating was 23 percent days ago and has fallen  as low as 18 percent, according to one poll.

On Friday, hundreds of students in Paris took to the streets a day early as a preview of Saturday’s protests after footage emerged of students on their knees in front of police with hands tied.

The students in Paris climbed on the statue of Marianne, representing liberty and reason, with some also defacing the monument with anti-Macron slogans. It looked like an ISIS fest of destruction.

Tourists are advised to stay away from the protest and avoid central Paris in general and angry protesters in particular.


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