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April 22, 2019

France: Weekly Yellow Vest Protests Channel Anger over Notre-Dame Donations
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In France, riot police fired tear gas and water cannons Saturday to
disperse thousands of yellow vest protesters, who took to the streets of
Paris and other cities for the 23rd straight weekend. The weekly
protests began last year to call out President Macron's pro-business
economic policies, with demands for fair wages and higher taxes on the
wealthy. Many of the protesters are resentful that wealthy donors
funding the reconstruction of Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral will get huge
tax breaks. This is a 62-year-old retiree who joined Saturday's
protests.

Odette: "The moment I saw the Notre-Dame burning, I was overcome with
emotion. But when I saw such large donations of money to save
Notre-Dame, my long-held thoughts were proven absolutely true, that
these billionaires donating this money will get tax breaks as large as
if they had donated nothing. Well, this put more pressure on me to be
here today and to continue defending the little people, of whom I am
part."



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