France’s Macron Caught Between Protests, Strasbourg Attack

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to take back control of his nation after a month of protests that caused mayhem across the country — and now a new extremist attack that’s putting France on renewed terror alert. Striving to show he’s responding to “yellow vest” protesters’ demands for tax relief, the French leader maintained his planned agenda Wednesday: He held his weekly Cabinet meeting and talks with big public and private companies, notably to encourage them to give a tax-free, year-end bonus to their employees. At the same time, Macron’s office said he was staying constantly informed about the investigation into Tuesday’s Strasbourg attack and hunt for the gunman, still on the run. Macron said “the terrorist threat is still at the core of our nation’s life,” in comments reported by government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux. “Public order must prevail in every place and every circumstance,” Macron added. Within his presidential palace and the halls of government, concerns about the protests remain intense despite the Strasbourg scare. The attack Tuesday night came just 24 hours after Macron broke a long silence on the mushrooming protest movement and appealed in an unusual televised address to the nation for calm.