[Annotated] A chastened president offers concessions worth up to €10bn

It was a chastened^[각주:1] Emmanuel Macron who addressed the French nation on December 10th in an attempt to defuse the first real political crisis of his presidency^[각주:2]. His brow creased^[각주:3], his tone contrite^[각주:4], the French president acknowledged his mistakes - "I know I have hurt some of you with my words" - and promised a costly package of fiscal measures^[각주:5] to boost pay packets^[각주:6] and pensions. Whether this is enough to restore his authority depends as much on public opinion as on the protesters themselves. 

Mr Macron's 13-minute address, watched by a staggering 21m people^[각주:7], was the first time he had spoken publicly since violence engulfed parts of central Paris on^[각주:8] December 1st, as part of the countrywide gilets jaunes ("yellow vests") movement. The president promised that those on the minimum wage - currently €1,499 ($1,707) a month - would receive an extra 100 euros each month without any cost to employers (probably through an expanded wage subsidy^[각주:9]). An increase in social charges on pensions would be cancelled for those on below €2,000 a month. Both overtime and any end-of-year bonuses^[각주:10] offered by employers would be free of taxes and charges. 

The government estimates the cost of these measures to be some €8bn-10bn, or about 0.4% of GDP. Without compensating cuts to spending^[각주:11], this will inevitably strain^[각주:12] the budget deficit^[각주:13], which was already forecast to rise in^[각주:14] 2019 to 2.8% of GDP, considerably higher than Italy's, and only just inside the Maastricht limit of 3%. Some analysts suggest that thanks to the new concessions it could reach as high as^[각주:15] 3.5%. That would risk provoking a fresh crisis in the euro area. 

Mr Macron also ruled out^[각주:16] bringing back the wealth tax that^[각주:17] he scrapped as one of his first actions in office. Reversing that is a central demand of^[각주:18] many of the gilets jaunes, whose original complaint against a rise in green taxes on^[각주:19] diesel and petrol at the pump has since broadened to anger at what^[각주:20] they consider to be unfair taxation. 

As important as the income-boosting measures themselves was the president's tone^[각주:21]. Out went his know-it-all^[각주:22] lecturing manner^[각주:23]. In came a degree of humility and concern^[각주:24]. A philosophy graduate and rationalist, Mr Macron does not do folksy politics^[각주:25], and true to style he opted for^[각주:26] a conventional form of address^[각주:27], sitting at the gilt-edged desk in^[각주:28] the Elysée palace, framed by the emblems of presidential power. But many of those who have been protesting on roundabouts^[각주:29] in rural parts of France for the past four weeks are as angry about what they feel to be the president's lack of respect for them as they are about their own difficulties making ends meet^[각주:30]. This time, he acknowledged the charge. "I may have given you the impression that this was not my concern, that I had other priorities," he said. He will now meet regularly with mayors, union leaders^[각주:31] and others, Mr Macron said, in order to listen more. As an apology it was not exactly fulsome^[각주:32], but it was something. 

Will it be enough to take the heat out of the protest movement^[각주:33], though? The great difficulty for the government is that the gilets jaunes movement is without structure or leaders. It has no formal negotiating position, and its demands range from the reasonable (the abolition of the increase in^[각주:34] the fuel eco-tax, which^[각주:35] the government has already done for January 2019) to the absurd (including the resignation of Mr Macron). Mr Macron therefore had to make his peace offering with^[각주:36] no way of knowing how his efforts will be perceived. 

For some of the gilets jaunes, nothing the president can say or do will be enough. Their anger captures a sense of being left behind that has been rising for over a decade throughout Western democracies, not just in France. There is talk of a fifth Saturday of protest on December 15th. In many ways, however, what matters more is the broader popular reaction. The numbers on the streets in recent weekends - around 130,000 countrywide^[각주:37] - have been relatively limited by the standards of many French protests. It is both the scale of the violence, partly perpetrated by ultra-left and far-right infiltrators^[각주:38], and the backing of public opinion that^[각주:39] has put such pressure on the government. 

Unsurprisingly^[각주:40], Mr Macron's political opponents have already lined up to dismiss the measures he announced as inadequate^[각주:41]. Throughout the protests, polls have suggested that a majority of the French support the gilets jaunes; this has remained stable despite the violence. A snap poll after Mr Macron's address, though, suggested that a majority judged that he had met the protesters' demands. Some of his critics from within his own camp were relieved. "Macron has acknowledged his past behavioural mistakes^[각주:42]," said Philippe Aghion, an economist who advised him during his campaign but has judged him harshly since. "He can move on."

Yet it is hard to see how the president can emerge from this drama with anything like the same reformist momentum^[각주:43]. Mr Macron still enjoys a robust parliamentary majority^[각주:44] and the strong executive powers of^[각주:45] the Fifth Republic presidency. But he has now shown that, despite his promise not to behave like his predecessors, he too will back down if put under pressure on the street^[각주:46]. The gilets jaunes protest will doubtless come to mark a turning-point for Mr Macron. The best outcome would be if the rebooted, consensus-seeking^[각주:47], listening president can indeed "turn anger into an opportunity" and build a fresh consensus around his plans. The worst would be the end of his ambitions to modernize and and transform France^[각주:48]. 

1. chastened ; [형용사] <사람·태도 등이> (혼나서) 누그러진; 벌을 받은; 원만해진 ;; 1. (징벌·고생 따위로) 단련된, 온순해진(disciplined) ; 억제된, 누그러진, 온순한(subdued). ;; 2. 세련된, 우아한(refined). [본문으로]
2. defuse ; 1. [타동사] (긴장·위험 등을) 진정[완화]시키다 ;; [VERB] If you defuse a dangerous or tense situation, you calm it. [본문으로]
3. crease ; 1. 접은 자국이 생기다; 구겨지다; 주름지다 ;; 2. 포복절도하다, 크게 웃다 ((up)) ;; [VERB] If cloth or paper creases or if you crease it, lines form in it when it is crushed or folded. [본문으로]
4. contrite ; [형용사] (격식) 깊이 뉘우치는, 회한에 찬 ;; [ADJ] If you are contrite, you are very sorry because you have done something wrong. ;; 미국식 [ˈkɑːntraɪt] 영국식 [ˈkɒntraɪt; kənˈtraɪt] [본문으로]
5. measure ; 1. [C] ~ (to do sth) (특정 목적을 달성하기 위한) 조치[정책] ; 참조 half measures [본문으로]
6. pay packet (ˈwage packet 英 모두 사용; 美 ˈpay envelope) ;; 봉급[급여] 봉투; 봉급[급여] 액수 ;; [NOUN] [oft poss N] Your pay packet is the envelope containing your wages, which your employer gives you at the end of every week.in AM, use pay envelope [본문으로]
7. staggering ; 1. 비틀거리는(tottering), 비틀비틀하는, 갈짓자 걸음의(reeling). ;; 2. 비틀거리게 하는, 흔들리게 하는(causing one to stagger). ;; 3. 주저하게 하는 ; 주저하는(wavering). ;; 4. 깜짝 놀라게 하는(astonishing), 망연하게 하는(overwhelming). [본문으로]
8. engulf ; [VN] (격식) 1. [타동사] 완전히 에워싸다, 휩싸다 ;; [VERB] If one thing engulfs another, it completely covers or hides it, often in a sudden and unexpected way. [본문으로]
9. wage subsidy ; 임금 보조금 [본문으로]
10. an end-of-year bonus ; 연말 상여금 [본문으로]
11. cut ; 3. ~ (in sth) (양크기공급 등의) 삭감, 감축, 인하 ;; 참조 power cut, short cut [본문으로]
12. strain ; 3. [타동사][VN] 한계에 이르게 하다, 무리를 주다 ;; [VERB] To strain something means to make it do more than it is able to do. [본문으로]
13. budget deficit; ; 재정 적자, 예산 적자 [본문으로]
14. forecast ; [타동사] (forecast, forecast 또는 forecasted, forecasted) 예측[예보]하다 ; 유의어 predict [본문으로]
15. concession ; 3. [C, 주로 복수로] (英) 할인; 할인표 ;; 4. [C] (특히 정부나 고용주가 집단·단체 등에 부여하는) 권리[혜택] [본문으로]
16. rule out ; [동사] 제외시키다, 배제하다; 불가능하게 하다. ; 유의어 exclude, eliminate. ;; [본문으로]
17. wealth tax ; [명사] 부유세 [본문으로]
18. central ; 1. 중심되는, 가장 중요한 [본문으로]
19. green tax ; [명사] 환경세, 오염세(환경 오염·파괴업자에게 부과하는 세금). ;; 유의어 environmental tax, pollution tax. ;; [NOUN] any tax imposed with the aim of regulating activity in a way that benefits the environment [본문으로]
20. broaden ; 넓히다, 넓게 하다; 넓어지다, 벌어지다 ((out)) ;; [VERB] When something broadens, it becomes wider. [본문으로]
21. the president's tone was as important as the income-boosting measures themselves 의 도치 [본문으로]
22. know-it-all ; [형용사, 명사] 아는 체하는 (사람), 똑똑한 체하는 (사람) ;; [NOUN] If you say that someone is a know-it-all, you are critical of them because they think that they know a lot more than other people. in BRIT, use know-all [본문으로]
23. Out went ~ ; went out of his know-it-all lecturing manner. ;; 도치, 강조로 보임 [본문으로]
24. In came ~ ; came in to a degree of humility and concern. 의 도치, 강조로 보임 [본문으로]
25. folksy ; (美구어) 사교적인, 교제하기 좋아하는(sociable) ; 대중적인(popular) ; 간소한(simple) ; 제집 같은, 가정적인(homely) ; 일반적인(general). ;; [ADJ] [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as folksy, you mean that it is simple and has a style characteristic of folk craft and tradition. You sometimes use folksy to show disapproval of something because it seems unsophisticated. ;; [ADJ][usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as folksy, you mean that they are friendly and informal in their behaviour. ;; 미국식 [ˈfoʊksi] 영국식 [ˈfəʊksi] [본문으로]
26. opt for ; ~을 선택하다 ;; to choose something; to make a decision about something [본문으로]
27. form of address ; (구두·서면의) 직함, 부르기 [본문으로]
28. gilt-edged ; 1. (책·종이 따위가) 금테의, 가장자리에 금을 칠한. ;; 2. (어음·증권·출연자 따위가) 최상급의, 일류의, 우량의; 《英》 (증권이) 정부 발행[보증]의(<참고> blue-chip). (또는 gílt-èdge) [본문으로]
29. roundabout ; 2. 에움길, 우회로(路) ; 넌지시 하는 말, 완곡적인 말 ; 간접적인 방법. ;; 3. 원(circle), 원형의 물건, 원형의 장소, 원진(圓陣), 원형울타리 ; (英) 원형 교통로, 로타리((美) rotary, traffic circle). [본문으로]
30. make (both) ends meet ; 겨우 먹고 살 만큼 벌다 ;; 수입과 지출의 균형을 맞추다 [본문으로]
31. a union leader[official] ;; 노동조합의 간부[임원] [본문으로]
32. fulsome ; [형용사] (못마땅함) (칭찬·감사·사과 등이) 지나친[진실성이 안 느껴지는] ;; [ADJ] If you describe expressions of praise, apology, or gratitude as fulsome, you disapprove of them because they are exaggerated and elaborate, so that they sound insincere. [본문으로]
33. take the heat out of ; …의 흥분[열기]을 식히다 ;; make a situation less tense, emotional, dangerous, etc [본문으로]
34. abolition ; [U] (법률·제도·조직의) 폐지 ;; [NOUN] The abolition of something such as a system or practice is its formal ending. [본문으로]
35. eco tax ; [명사] 환경세(공해 물질에 부과). [본문으로]
36. peace offering ; [명사] 화해의 선물 [본문으로]
37. countrywide ; 전국에 걸쳐 ; 유의어 nationwide [본문으로]
38. infiltrator ; [명사] (정보 등을 빼내기 위한) 잠입자 ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈɪnfɪltreɪtə(r)] [본문으로]
39. the backing of public opinion ; 여론의 후원 [본문으로]
40. unsurprisingly ; 아니나 다를까, 당연하게도, 놀랄것도 없이 [본문으로]
41. inadequate ; 1. ~ (for sth) | ~ (to do sth) 불충분한, 부적당한 ; 반의어 adequate ;; [ADJ] If something is inadequate, there is not enough of it or it is not good enough. [본문으로]
42. behavioral ; [형용사] 행동의, 행동에 관한 [본문으로]
43. momentum ; 2. 탄력, 세(勢), 힘. ;; 4. (철학) 모멘트(moment), 계기, 요소. [본문으로]
44. parliamentary ; [형용사] (주로 명사 앞에 씀) 의회의; 의회가 있는 ; 참조 unparliamentary ;; 미국식 [ˌpɑːrl-] 영국식 [ˌpɑːləˈmentri] [본문으로]
45. executive power ; 집행권 [본문으로]
46. back down ; [동사] 퇴각하다, 후퇴하다, 양보하다, 철회하다, 포기하다(from). ; 유의어 withdraw, give in. [본문으로]
47. consensus-seeking ; 합의를 추구하는 [본문으로]
48. modernize ; …을 근대[현대]화하다, 현대적[최신식]으로 하다. ;; [VERB] To modernize something such as a system or a factory means to change it by replacing old equipment or methods with new ones. [본문으로]