Int’l flights to Paris drop amid Yellow Vest protests

By Yusuf Ozcan</p> <p>PARIS (AA) – International flights to French capital Paris dropped in December last year, amid Yellow Vest protests, the country’s state-run tourism agency said on Friday.</p> <p>Christian Mantei, director general of Atout France, said a 5 to 10 percent drop in international flights to Paris has been recorded in December.</p> <p>Mantei said the Yellow Vest protests have harmed tourism of France as well.</p> <p>He said that flight reservations to Paris for the first three months of 2019 down 6.8 percent due to the protests.</p> <p> </p> <p>- Yellow Vest protests</p> <p>The Yellow Vest protests, which started as a reaction to fuel tax hikes and evolved into a protest against French President Emmanuel Macron, have continued despite the government’s call for them to halt.</p> <p>Since Nov. 17, thousands of protesters wearing bright yellow vests — dubbed the Yellow Vests — have gathered in major French cities, including the capital Paris, to protest Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation.</p> <p>Demonstrators held protests blocking roads and traffic, and also blocked the entrance and exits to many gas stations and factories across the country.</p> <p>The protesters, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, have called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and ease their economic difficulties.</p> <p>Under pressure from the protests, Macron announced a rise in the minimum wage and also scuttled controversial fuel tax hikes.</p> <p>At least 10 people died, over 5,500 others were detained, and more than a thousand others were wounded in the protests.