French President Emmanuel Macron, under fire from swelling protest, insisted Thursday he would "never retreat" and cast himself as a progressive voice on the global stage.

Visiting Argentina for the summit of the Group of 20 major economies, Macron said he heard "the legitimate anger, the impatience, the suffering of a part of the people who want to live better, faster."

But he said he would "pursue with force" his reforms "without giving up ambitions" or "giving in to demagoguery."

"It will be up to me to make additional decisions in the weeks and months to come, but they will never be retreats but rather, for this moment, more intense," he told the French community of Buenos Aires.

Macron made no direct mention of the "yellow vests," the growing movement in France of protesters who have dressed in the quickly recognizable jackets of emergency workers.

The demonstrations were triggered by Macron's hikes in fuel taxes -- a measure he believes is needed to address the increasingly urgent but still largely long-term challenge of climate change, but which opponents say hits the poor immediately.

Macron, attending a summit alongside US President Donald Trump, again cast himself as a champion of forward-looking international policies.

"Many would like to think that we can resolve our difficulties better by being belligerent and isolationist and by closing our borders," he said.

He instead defended globalization, which he said "has massively reduced poverty around the world and has brought much more calm to the world than expected."

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Chinese consumers pull back, but other indicators stabilise
Beijing (AFP) Nov 14, 2018
Chinese consumer spending slowed in October, official data showed Wednesday, adding to worries over the world's second-largest economy, but investment and industrial production appeared to stabilise. Concerns about China have increased in recent months after third-quarter growth came in at its slowest pace in nine years, and as trade frictions with the US have ratcheted upwards. Chinese officials are currently engaging with their US counterparts as the two economic giants try to work out a comp ... read more