ER Editor: In the RTL article titled 2 Français sur 3 ne font pas confiance au gouvernement pour les prochaines réformes (2 out of 3 French have no confidence in the government over its upcoming reforms), in addition to expressing opinion on the citizen-initiated referendum (RIC) proposed 
by the Gilets Jaunes discussed below by FreeWest Media, French also have little confidence in the reform program of Macron for 2019. For this we can imagine more privatizations and deregulation plus higher taxes, all to the detriment of citizens.
Public opinion of the RIC or citizen-initiated referendum, the main plank of the Gilets Jaunes platform, is as FreeWest points out very high at 80%. A month ago, support for the Gilets Jaunes stood at 72%, a level equal to that on the first day of mass protests, November 17th.
It follows that French support for the Gilets Jaunes movement is not losing steam thus far.
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Referendum that could remove Macron supported by huge majority
In France, the citizens’ initiative referendum (RIC), which has become the cornerstone of the Yellow Vest dispute, has the support of 80 percent of French voters, according to a survey.
PARIS – Voters from two parties – the National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen and former Communist Party sympathizers of La France Insoumise (LFI) – are the most inclined to favor such a referendum.
More than seven weeks after the start of the Yellow Vest movement, it appears that a huge majority of French people support one of the flagship proposals of this unprecedented protest.
According to the Harris Interactive Barometer for RTL and M6 unveiled on January 2, 80 percent of respondents say they support the the citizens’ initiative referendum (RIC) to propose a law.
This democratic tool, popularized notably by Etienne Chouard during the referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty of 2005, would allow any proposal of a French citizen – be it legislative, abrogatory, revocatory or constitutive – to be the object of a national referendum if it includes a sufficient number – still to be defined – of signatures of French compatriots.
Moreover, even its use to repeal a law meets the approval of 72 percent of French respondents, according to the same survey, while 63 percent would be in favor of ending the mandate of an elected official and 62 percent to amend the Constitution.
The supporters of the National Rally and LFI of Jean-Luc Mélanchon are more inclined to support the RIC with more than 77 percent for each of its applications.
The most reserved voters on the issue are the sympathizers of LREM, President Macron’s party.
Half of French respondents question the effectiveness of the “great national debate”. The same poll also revealed the French mood about the progress of the “big national debate” launched by the government.
Only LREM supporters are optimistic about the outcome of the government proposals.
A previous survey already revealed that the RIC, while criticized by many commentators and politicians, has met with wide approval from ordinary French voters.
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Featured image courtesy of NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
