EMMANUEL MACRON is facing revolt after petrol prices in France soared for the sixth consecutive week, prompting calls for a resurgence in Yellow Vest protests.
19:00, Tue, Feb 1, 2022 | UPDATED: 19:18, Tue, Feb 1, 2022
The latest figures published on Monday by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, show the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol has risen above the 1.70 euro mark. In just one week, the average price of a litre of diesel had also increased by 1.64 cents to 1.67 euros.
While for unleaded petrol, the weekly increase is even higher.
The price of SP95, a type of unleaded fuel, rose by 2.15 cents and that of SP95-E10, another common ethanol fuel mixture, by 2.10 cents.
The rise in prices is weighing on the purchasing power of the French, who are becoming increasingly angry by the concerning situation.
Across some areas in Frances, fuel prices have soared even higher with some stations seeing the cost exceed the two euro per litre mark.
This means that some motorists are hunting for the cheapest cost at fuel stations in their region, in order to help lower their fuel bill.
These rising costs have sparked rumours that there could be a return of the Yellow Vests movement.
The term refers to protests that took place in France in 2018 after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a green tax on fuel.
The movement is nicknamed for the safety vests worn by protesters, known as gilets jaunes, and initially, the yellow vest protesters were from rural areas who have to drive long distances as part of their daily life and couldn’t afford the hike in fuel costs.
The protests appeared in pockets around France to denounce Macron's green tax before growing in scale.
The larger movement saw members of the working and middle classes join protests, as they expressed their frustration about slipping standards of living.
The movement has no official leadership and was organised initially through social media groups.
Some motorists are hoping for the possibility of a return of the protests.
A motorcyclist at a petrol station in Issy-les-Moulineaux told French news channel CNews they were “waiting” for the emergence.
They said: "We're waiting for the yellow vests to come back and bring it all down.”
The protests appeared in pockets around France to denounce Macron's green tax (Image: Getty) When the Yellow Vest movement emerged, the increase in fuel prices was the driving force for people’s frustrations.
However, at the time a litre of diesel cost “only” 1.47 euros per litre.
For SP95, it was 1.46 euros and 1.43 euros for SP95-E10.
These figures are considerably lower than the ones reported on January 31.
