The yellow vests are at the vanguard of a politically incorrect uprising

The ninth weekend of the gilet jaune protest movement was a mixed result for Emmanuel Macron. The nationwide demonstrations were relatively peaceful with only minor skirmishes between protestors and police, but numbers were up, with a total of 84,000 taking to the streets, 34,000 more than the previous Saturday.

This is an impressive figure given that we are in the depth of the northern hemisphere winter, but what are rain, sleet and sub-zero temperatures when the future of one’s country is at stake?

With that in mind Macron launches his Big Debate on Tuesday in the hope that consultation will supplant confrontation and a consensus can be reached behind which the country can unite and move forward.

The odds of that happening appear to be slim. Scepticism is the order of the day with a poll last week reporting that seventy per cent of those asked believe the nationwide Big Debate, which runs until March 15, will fail in its aim.