Macron Says Violence in Paris Not Reflecting Legitimate Anger
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Demonstrators stand next to a fire during a protest of Yellow vests (Gilets jaunes) against rising oil prices and living costs, on December 1, 2018, near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Photographer: Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP via Getty Images
President Emmanuel Macron said scenes of “chaos” aren’t representative of the “legitimate anger” roiling France, but refused to answer questions over his response to protests that have left swaths of Paris with burned cars, exploded shop windows and graffiti tags on the Arc de Triomphe.
“What has happened in Paris today is not the pacific expression of a legitimate anger,” Macron said in opening remarks at a press conference at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires. “The culprits of those violent acts don’t want change, don’t seek improvement, they want chaos.” He refused to answer questions on the matter.