The French President Emmanuel Macron, responding to the ongoing protests of “yellow vests”, wrote a public letter to compatriots calling to participate in the national debate. The document was published on the website of the Elysee Palace on Sunday, January 13.

Macron himself proposed to bring on the discussion 35 issues – from taxation and the environment to immigration. According to the French leader, the discussion should contribute to the transition of “discontent into solutions”.

Within the framework of this dialogue there will be no “taboo topics”, but there will be “red lines”, he said in the “letter to the French”. Thus, the issue of granting political asylum is not subject to revision, as well as the partial abolition of the “wealth tax” at the end of 2017 — after this reform only expensive real estate, but not other property, as before, falls under the tax. The abolition of this reform is one of the requirements of the “yellow vests”.

National debate until March 15

The debate is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 15. They should last two months-until March 15. At this time, Emmanuel Macron intends to travel to the cities of the country and meet with municipal politicians. Within a month of the conclusion of the discussion, the President of France plans to submit a report on its outcome.

Protests of “yellow vests” broke out in November 2018. The protesters initially opposed the intention of the authorities to introduce a tax that could lead to an increase in the price of motor fuel, as well as an increase in the minimum wage. After the government approved a moratorium on raising fuel taxes and made a number of other concessions, the demonstrators began to protest against the overall reforms of the government and President Emmanuel Macron.