A day after President Emmanuel Macron’s administration backed down in the face of nationwide protests and suspended a fuel-tax, the government has suggested it could also amend a wealth tax that critics say goes too easy on the rich.

Axar.az reports citing Trend.

Speaking on RTL radio, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux, a close ally of Macron’s, said all policies involving taxation needed to be reevaluated from time to time and, if deemed not to be working, should be changed.

“If a measure that we have taken, which is costing the public money, turns out not to be working, if it’s not going well, we’re not stupid - we would change it,” he said.

He defended Macron’s decision on coming into office last year to amend the wealth tax - known in France as ‘ISF’ - by narrowing it to a tax on real estate assets, rather than covering all worldwide assets, from jewelry to yachts to investments, over the value of 1.3 million euros.

Those changes earned Macron the label “president of the rich” because they were seen by his critics as accommodating the wealthy.

Asked whether the government would be willing to go back on that decision, Griveaux suggested it was possible.

“We did not cancel the ISF, we transformed it, I want to remind you that we maintained the tax on real estate... The tax that was removed was to encourage investments in the real economy. It was not a gift to the rich,” he said, before adding:

“We are evaluating it, we are controlling it. This money was to be invested in our SMEs for them to develop, innovate and hire. If that is not the case, if the evaluation is not good, then we can reopen it for discussion.”

Over the past three weeks, Macron has come under immense pressure in the face of nationwide protests against a fuel-tax increase that was set to begin in January.