Yellow vest protesters try to storm Macron's presidential retreat on Mediterranean

‘For people who want more democracy, they should start by respecting other people’s property,’ says local mayor

The Fort de Bregancon has served as a holiday retreat for French leaders for decades (Wikipedia/Patrub01)

Yellow vest protesters attempted to storm Emmanuel Macron’s holiday home before they were turned away by the authorities.

A small group from the anti-government movement arrived at the Fort de Bregancon on Thursday, shouting “Macron resign” as they attempted to enter the grounds.

The medieval fortress on the Mediterranean coast has served as a holiday retreat for French leaders for decades, and is easy to secure due to its location on a peninsula.

Around 50 people were turned away by armed police from the site, where they claimed Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte are currently spending their holidays.

The president’s office would not confirm whether or not the couple were currently at the house, but some of the protesters indicated they would attempt to enter again on Friday.

“It’s madness”, the mayor of nearby Bormes-les-Mimosas, Francois Arizzi, told AFP.

“For people who want more democracy, they should start by respecting other people’s property.”

The yellow vest movement began with widespread protests over fuel taxes, but ultimately grew into a wider critique of the president and his lack of concern for normal French people.

In Paris, protests have repeatedly descended into clashes with the police, who deployed water cannons and armoured vehicles to deal with the crowds.

Last Saturday almost 150 arrests were made for public order offences in Paris alone, and more protests are planned for this weekend and New Year’s Eve.

Mr Macron has backed down on his proposed charges on petrol and diesel, which were intended as a measure to cut emissions.

He has also vowed to increase the national minimum wage by 7 per cent, and said employers would be encouraged to give an end of year tax-free bonus to employees.

However, the yellow vests have pledged to continue protesting indefinitely until more concessions are extracted from the president, whose popularity rating has now sunk to just 18 per cent.

The Fort de Bregancon has previously added to Mr Macron’s reputation as “President of the Rich” after it emerged that he had installed a €34,000 euro (£31,000) swimming pool at the site.