I feel you on the substance but it's not just that here. As
@mbewane said, it's the last of a series of misteps from Macron but still the issue at heart is not just tax raising. When the whole society is based around cars, taxing the transportation mean of the middle class is seen as another unfair measure that keeps piling up. Plus, as a Frenchie that takes public transportation every day, there's no way it can support further growth as the infrastructure is clearly lacking in maintenance.
We need to act regarding climate change that's a fact indeed but this needs to be top down, not bottom up. If you put the burden of change on the middle class, there's only so much they can bear without breaking above all as the wealthy do not share the same amount of effort (relatively speaking). If it was more evened out, it would more understood by the citizens I think. Also, Macron is a good "technician" and knows his dossiers but lacks proper empathy as a president and even though he's "right" regarding the issue at play, the citizens can't be treated as pawns on a chessboard even if it's for the greater good.
All in all, the issue is also about our way of lives. It's obvious our urban ways are the source and if you look at Paris, there's only so much you can do about it. The Périphérique is full of cars every commute hours, the suburban train lines are almost at max capacity and even knowing this, the population is still growing with more people going to work and living there.
Theory works well but practically the level of changes required to build a greener society before it's too late would basically mean wiping out an entire generation to rebuild. I'd say,
let's have another WW and after it, a green Marshall Plan :trollbron: