Macron blinks, offers tax cuts to protesting workers

Paris - Thursday's response is the result of a three-month long debate.

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Thursday to cut tax further and said the French would have to work more as he outlined his response to months of anti-government protests that have challenged his authority.
Two years into his presidency, Macron is under pressure to deliver policies to quell the five-month old "yellow vest" movement, after a first salvo of measures worth ?10 billion last December failed to put the genie back in the bottle. Macron said he wanted a "significant" cut in income tax, which would be financed by closing loopholes, squeezing government spending, but the French would also have to work more.
Although the number of demonstrators has declined since a peak in November, protesters clashed with police for a 23rd straight week last Saturday. Thursday's response is the result of a three-month long debate, during which Macron rolled up his sleeves to discuss issues from high taxes to local democracy and decaying shopping streets with mayors, students and hard-up workers.