France: Macron launches public debate on ‘yellow vest’ protests

The French president has launched a national citizens’ debate in a bid to quell the yellow vest protests that have taken place across France since November.

The president has detailed the debate in a letter to the nation.

He says it will give French people more of a voice in the way the country is run and it will be a chance for new ideas.

Many demonstrators say Emmanuel Macron and his government are out of touch with people’s concerns.

Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler reports from Paris.