The Guardian view on the gilets jaunes: Macron needs to regain his popular touch | Editorial

The French president needs to find a way to tackle both climate change and the anger on the streetsAlmost two decades ago a new fresh-faced leader of the centre-left emerged in Europe and appeared, having won a historic election, on the cusp of changing politics in his country. But as he flew higher, he lost a sense of the public mood and failed to face up early on to a crisis which brought his modern industrial society to a halt. In doing so he revealed an inability to control events or win around public opinion. Then the country was Britain and the young prime minister Tony Blair. Today the nation is France; and the leader is Emmanuel Macron. Then, as now, a series of seemingly leaderless protests saw aggrieved social constituents latch on to a narrowly framed but popular economic grievance: the rising cost of fuel due to green taxes. Mr Blair considered bringing in the army. Mr Macron weighs up whether a state of emergency will restore order.It is tempting think plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose - but that would ignore the broader picture. President Macron faces a threat far more existential than Mr Blair did. Liberal democracies are being destabilised by the ability of groups to organise and criticise on social media with arguments that previously would have taken longer to enter the political bloodstream. The gilets jaunes (yellow vest) unrest saw 170,000 take to the streets of Paris at the weekend. Rioters torched cars and buildings. Scribbled on the Arc de Triomphe was "Macron resignation". Mr Macron's pro-business rhetoric and tin ear for the street have seen him cast as the embodiment of the nation's elite, disconnected from the country, and willing to favour the rich. Continue reading...