Macron to meet unions, address nation seeking to end 'yellow vest' crisis

President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on the “yellow vest” crisis Monday and meet trade unionists and business leaders in search of a way to end the protests that have rocked France.

The president will speak to the French people at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), his Elysee office announced -- his first public comments after four weeks of nationwide anti-government demonstrations which again turned violent Saturday in Paris and other cities.

Government officials have said the 40-year-old centrist would announce “immediate and concrete measures” to respond to protesters' grievances.

(Protestors wearing "yellow vests" (gilets jaunes) kneel and gesture in front of French riot police in Nantes / AFP)

Calls have multiplied across the political spectrum for drastic action, with former far-right presidential rival Marine Le Pen urging Macron to “recognise society's suffering and deliver immediate, very strong responses”.

“It is clear that we underestimated people's need to make themselves heard,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told Europe 1 radio on Sunday.

Some 10,000 protesters had taken to Paris' streets, where about 8,000 police were deployed.

Security forces launched a massive operation in a bid to minimise the unrest, detaining more than 1,000 people and mobilising armoured cars in Paris for the first time.

(AFP)