Macron’s gilets jaunes speech is pivotal after Notre Dame disaster
French president postponed his address to the nation but the stakes have been raised
The broadcast was ready to go. Emmanuel Macron’s address to the nation in response to months of protest and violence from the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement and the “great national debate” they sparked, had been recorded that afternoon and was due to go live at 8pm.
Running to 26 minutes it was, said Le Monde, “a make-or-break moment for the presidency and for this president, confronted […] with one of the most serious social crises the country has known for the past 30 years”.