Emmanuel Macron

The strike took a quieter turn Friday, as protests ebbed but workers still stayed home in anger at a pension reform proposal. Stations and schools across the country remained shuttered.

When he was running for president, Trump said NATO was "obsolete." But now, with the French president accusing the alliance of experiencing "brain death," Trump is pushing back.

The French president was swept into power with plans to reshape his country, and all of Europe, but it hasn't gone his way. Does he have time to turn things around?

The meeting in London comes as several of the member-countries are dealing with recent terror attacks and political turmoil. For President Trump, that will mean House Judiciary Committee hearings.

In a tweet, the French president called the 2,500 active fires in the Amazon an "international crisis" and urged fellow G-7 members to "discuss this emergency first order" at their upcoming summit.

With his government rocked by ongoing yellow vest demonstrations, French President Emmanuel Macron launched a nationwide series of community conversations. But some wonder if anything will change.

"The media are all talking about us, and we actually made the government back down," says one protester at a traffic circle. "We're not about to accept the crumbs Macron has thrown us."

NPR's Scott Simon talks to French journalist Anne Nivat about the political situation in her country, where just a quarter of citizens say they approve the president's job performance.

Protesters took to the streets of the French capital on Saturday in the fourth demonstration since unrest began in November.

Nicknamed for the safety vests worn by protesters, the yellow vest movement has sparked a political crisis for the French government. In Paris, demonstrations turned into riots over the weekend.

A grassroots movement in France, the mostly working-class "yellow vests," objects to new gasoline taxes. French President Emmanuel Macron says he sympathizes, but the tax will stand.

"I don't want to give the illusion that my presence in government means we're answering these issues properly," Nicolas Hulot said, criticizing President Emmanuel Macron's environmental policies.