Police officer searches an anti-Macron demonstrator in Paris over the weekend. Photo: AFP
Police officer searches an anti-Macron demonstrator in Paris over the weekend. Photo: AFP

Amid growing calls for him to end the “yellow vest” crisis gripping France, President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation Monday as the authorities assess the cost of weeks of anti-government demonstrations.

Macron will speak to the French people at 7 pm GMT, his office announced – the embattled leader’s first public comments after four weeks of nationwide anti-government demonstrations that again turned violent Saturday in Paris and other cities.

The president, who has been the target of protesters’ anger over policies that are perceived to favor the wealthy, was expected to announce “immediate and concrete measures” to address the crisis, said Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud.

The 40-year-old president will also meet trade unionists and business leaders earlier Monday.

Officials said anti-Macron riots in Paris Saturday had been less violent than the previous week, with fewer people injured, but damage to property across the capital was far worse.

Burned-out vehicles littered the streets in several neighborhoods Sunday as cleaners swept up the broken glass from smashed shop windows and bus stops.

“There was much more dispersion [of protesters], so many more places were impacted,” Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told France Inter radio.

“There was much more damage.”

– with reporting by Agence France-Presse

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