courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress, where apparently some librarians are still at work.
For those not following this story, it's a remarkable social uprising that ostensibly started with a rise in the price of petroleum at the pump. The French government doesn't seem to have been able to put a lid on it, even after addressing the tax concern that got this rolling, and the protests have spread to Belgium and the United Kingdom. What exactly these are now about is not clear, but gasoline obviously isn't the full story. It seems to really be centered on the economic plight of those who live beyond the borders of big cities, where people are not doing well at all.
France Adopts Emergency Economic Measures in Response to “Yellow Vest” Protests
(Jan. 14, 2019) On December 24, 2018, the French government adopted a law of “emergency economic and social measures” in response to protests by the “Yellow Vest movement” (mouvement des gilets jaunes). (Loi No. 2018-1213 du 24 décembre 2018 portant mesures d’urgence économiques et sociales [Law No. 2018-1213 of 24 December 2018 Establishing Emergency Economic and Social Measures], Legifrance website.)
This Law contains three principal measures. The first is to allow employers to pay a bonus of up to 1,000 euros (approximately US$1,146), free of taxes and mandatory social contributions, to employees whose earn less than three times the minimum wage. (Id. art. 1.) This bonus, referred to as a “special purchasing-power bonus,” must be paid by March 31, 2019. (Id.) The second measure is to exempt overtime pay from certain payroll contributions and from income tax up to a maximum of 5,000 euros (about US$5,730). (Id. art. 2.) Finally, the third measure concerns the contribution sociale généralisée (CSG, generalized social contribution) tax, which funds French social security and unemployment insurance. For retirement pensions that are under 22,580 euros (about US$25,878) a year for a single person, or 34,636 euros (about US$39,695) a year for a couple, the CSG is brought back to the rate of 6.6%, as it was prior to January 1, 2018. (Id. art. 3.)
These measures were adopted to enact commitments made by President Emmanuel Macron on December 10, 2018, in response to protests by the Yellow Vest movement. (Loi du 24 décembre 2018 portant mesures d’urgence économiques et sociales [Law of 24 December 2018 Establishing Emergency Economic and Social Measures], VIE-PUBLIQUE (Dec. 26, 2018).) The Yellow Vest movement began in November 2018 as a grassroots protest against a planned increase of taxes on hydrocarbons to curb emissions. (Gregory Viscusi, How Yellow Vest Protests Swelled into Risk for Macron, WASH. POST (Nov. 13, 2018).) The protesters’ demands quickly broadened to include such things as raising the minimum wage, increasing retirement pensions, and restoring the wealth tax that the Macron government had done away with during his first year in office. (Id.)
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