How France's Yellow Vest Protests Damaged An Already Weakened President Macron

At a traffic circle outside the northern French town of Rouen, a couple of dozen protesters gather every day, building a bonfire and occasionally blocking traffic. The threat of arrest doesn't keep them away. Au contraire, says protester Frederic Bard; the nationwide movement called the gilets jaunes, or yellow vests, feels pretty powerful.

"The media are all talking about us, and we actually made the government back down," he says. "We're not about to accept the crumbs Macron has thrown us."

President Emmanuel Macron has offered such concessions as by about $114 and eliminating the fuel-tax hike that set off the unrest. The leader's approval rating inched up slightly to . Yet protesters in the yellow vest movement, which has rallied for more