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CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: France's government is giving in to a major demand of protestors but will it be enough to stop the riots that have been taking place there. I'm Carl Azuz for CNN 10 and that's where we begin today's show.

Most cars in France run on diesel fuel. The cost of that has gone up significantly this year and the government of French President Emmanuel Macron has planned an increase on diesel taxes starting in January.

Two main reasons for that. One, President Macron wants French drivers to switch from diesel cars to electric ones. He said that's necessary to fight climate change. And two, the French government spends more than it takes in so the higher taxes would help make up for that. But the president's been criticized for ignoring the needs of drivers who live outside cities and depend on their cars for transportation.

The proposed diesel tax triggered the "Yellow Vest Protests". Demonstrators have been wearing the yellow vests that French law requires drivers to keep in their cars. Over the weeks that protests have been held, the reasons for them have expanded to reflect general opposition to Macron's government. An estimated 36,000 people turned out across the country on Saturday and violence broke out.

Statues were vandalized. Graffiti was written on the famous Arc De Triomphe. The Reuters News Agency reported that a high school was set on fire.

About 400 people were arrested. The New York Times reports that three people were killed and that hundreds of others were hurt in the protests.

On Tuesday, the French Prime Minister announced that the planned tax increases on diesel would be postponed for six months. But the question remains, will that cause tensions to simmer down or will unrest continue to swell in the weeks ahead?

Starting Monday evening a long line formed outside the U.S. Capitol Building. The public stood in the cold to join current and former elected officials in paying their respects to former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. He passed away on Friday at the age of 94 and his casket was brought to the U.S. Capitol rotunda to lie in state until Wednesday morning. This is an honor reserved for military officers and U.S. government officials.

The 41st President's death brought together Republicans and Democrats who paid solemn tributes to President Bush at the Capitol and are expected at his state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral set for Wednesday. Former Senator Bob Dole a friend of President Bush for decades characterized the 41st leaders passing as the end of an era. George H. W. Bush was the last World War II veteran to serve as U.S. President.

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/2018/12/465655.html