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Clashes between protesters and gendarmes took place on Wednesday near the port's depot depot from which the "yellow vests" had been dislodged. Richard BOUHET / AFP

On November 22, France was experiencing its sixth straight day of protest as part of the flush-tax yellow jackets movement. Demonstrations against rising fuel taxes in particular have resulted in road blockages and have escalated several times, leaving two dead and hundreds wounded. Yellow vests are also starting to have an economic impact on the country.

The demonstration of the movement of yellow vests scheduled for November 23 may well be held in Paris but on the Champs-de-Mars. No question for the Minister of the Interior that this gathering takes place on the Place de la Concorde, a few steps from the Elysee, as requested by the organizers . Christophe Castaner also warns that " the judicial response will be intractable in case of unrest ."

Several sectors of the economy affected

In addition, yellow vests are also starting to have an economic impact on the country. From large-scale distribution to road hauliers and refineries, a large number of sectors are being disrupted by this flurry of tax cuts that began on November 17th.

Shopping centers, which have experienced a 40% drop in sales since last weekend, are the first affected. The Federation of Commerce and Distribution is worried about it, on the eve of "Black Friday" and the end of the year celebrations.

" Dozens of stores were still closed yesterday ," explains its general manager, Jacques Creyssel. Some have been closed for six days now. We hope this will end quickly. We asked the public authorities and we are in permanent contact with them. As soon as one of our stores is blocked, we demand that free access be guaranteed for our customers as well as for our employees "

Employees in other sectors are also affected. In the automotive industry, several factories are shut down due to a lack of supply. Thousands of workers found themselves out of work, especially at the PSA plant in Sochaux in eastern France.

Artisans and tradesmen, in turn, sound the alarm. " This movement must not have even more serious consequences because if we close a few tens of thousands of artisanal, commercial or liberal enterprises, we will still have thousands of jobs and economic difficulties that the whole will share, "says Alain Griset, president of the Union of Local Businesses, which represents nearly three million small businesses.

A hectic week

The movement promised "good-natured" gatherings, but this week's record reflects a different story. The excesses seem far removed from the claims of the first days on the ras-le-bol fiscal.

In total, there are 600 police guards, 110 people returned to correctional facilities, a hundred wounded security forces. The blockages have given rise to numerous excesses and even to real "drifts" according to Christophe Castaner, the Minister of the Interior.

On 17 November, in Cognac, Charente, a black motorist was the target of racist remarks. At the same time, 500 kilometers away, in Ain, a homosexual couple was physically assaulted by yellow vests on a roadblock.

November 19, while some call to continue the movement, several demonstrators burned and devastated a toll near Bordeaux. The motorway company complained.

In the middle of the week, walking MPs were targeted by yellow vests with intimidation around their homes. Finally, in the Somme, some protesters turned themselves into police auxiliaries by denouncing to the authorities the presence of migrants in a heavy weight.

That does not count the two dead and the dozens of wounded within or in the margin of the actions.