Macron tax cuts to help 15 million, but 'yellow vests' continue fight

France's finance minister promised Friday that some 15 million households would benefit from tax cuts announced by President Emmanuel Macron, but the move did little to calm tempers among "yellow vest" protesters.

In a major address on Thursday night, the French leader promised a new round of tax cuts worth 5 billion euros (USD 5.5 billion) as part of a raft of measures in answer to five months of anti-government street protests over the high cost of living.

But the speech, which was billed as a turning point for Macron's troubled presidency, sparked a mixed reaction on Friday and failed to win over those whose weekly protests had triggered the crisis.

"The yellow vest movement has to keep going," said Thierry-Paul Valette, co-founder of the "Yellow Vest Citizens" group, saying Macron had "missed a crucial opportunity" to meet with those who had been protesting since mid-November.

"From our five months of demonstrations, he learnt nothing... He didn't provide any political answers."
"We are not going to let the deficit expand," he said. "We are not going to let the public debt expand."
"We will steadily win people's confidence."