President Macron said the protesters did not represent French values

President Macron used his new year’s message to denounce the yellow-vest movement as a “hate-filled crowd” at odds with democratic French values.

In a televised address to the nation Mr Macron accused the movement, which has caused havoc over the past month, of being liars, violent, antisemitic, homophobic and racist.

He said that the movement’s self-proclaimed leaders were “the spokespeople of a hate-filled crowd attacking elected representatives, the forces of law and order, journalists, Jews, foreigners, homosexuals. That is simply the negation of France. I have recently seen things that are unthinkable and heard the unacceptable.”

Mr Macron said that they had spread lies on social media. “We cannot build anything on lies.”

The message was in contrast to the usually consensual feel of the