Macron’s tactical retreat

A tax U-turn has calmed protests – but for how long? Matthew Partridge reports.

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Macron: down but not out?

On Saturday, the fifth round of gilets jaunes ("yellow jacket") protests in a month took place in France. The turnout was "smaller and more restrained" than past protests, says Alissa Rubin in The New York Times. That was partly down to a "shift in public mood" in the wake of a mass shooting in Strasbourg, but also due to concessions made by French president Emmanuel Macron, including a hike in the minimum wage and the scrapping of the fuel taxes that sparked the protests in the first place. Meanwhile, companies such as oil giant Total chipped in with year-end bonuses and promises of pay rises.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri