(MENAFN- Gulf Times) One woman has died and hundreds have been injured, six of them seriously, during protests against high fuel prices in France.
At least 227 people were injured across France, including six seriously, according to the interior ministry, which estimated that nearly 283,000 demonstrators took part in yesterday's protests.
A police officer also sustained serious injuries.
By early evening, 73 people had been taken into custody, and some demonstrators were still in place at nightfall.
The woman, one of the protesters, died when another woman driving a car panicked when she encountered a roadblock and ran her over.
Some of the around 40 participants in the roadblock in the town of Pont-de-Beauvoisin, to the north of the city of Grenoble in southeastern France, were drumming on the woman's car, according to the local official.
She panicked and stepped on the accelerator.
She is in police custody.
Also in Arras in the north of the country, a male demonstrator was run over and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Several other accidents resulting in injury took place at locations throughout France linked to the protests.
France had been expecting a country-wide wave of protests against rising petrol and diesel prices and government plans to further hike the tax on vehicle fuel.
Police used tear gas to clear the entrance to a tunnel under the Mont-Blanc mountain in the Alps, and to push back demonstrators near the Elysee Palace in Paris and in the centre of Lyon.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner spoke earlier of more than 1,000 protests with an estimated 50,000 participants.
A movement on social media apparently without any central leadership had called for protesters wearing yellow high-visibility jackets to take to the streets.
Some of the hundreds of social media events called for roadblocks, while 'snail operations where protesters intentionally drive slowly across multiple lanes on highways are also expected.
Newspaper Le Monde reported on Friday that while about 1,500 events were expected, only 100 had been declared to local authorities, a legal requirement in France.
An additional 3,000 security staff were deployed throughout France, French broadcaster BFMTV reported, citing police sources.
President Emmanuel Macron's government has given a mixed reaction.
On the one hand, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced incentivising measures to aid motorists, including a €4,000 ($4,559) grant for poorer families to replace older, less fuel-efficient vehicles.
But, on the other hand, Castaner has warned that security forces will take action anywhere protesters block traffic.
Philippe has also ruled out any changes to government plans to raise fuel taxes by four euro cents per litre for petrol and seven cents for diesel.
An online petition against the tax rises on the website change.org has received support from more than 800,000 people.
Some Macron supporters have accused far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally of hijacking the movement.
Two major trade unions have also refused to join the protests, citing the involvement of the far-right.
But opposition figures from the centre-right and left have also backed the protests.
Protesters chanted 'Macron, resign and some sported slogans such as 'give us back our purchasing power on the back of the yellow high-visibility vests, which have come to symbolise the movement.
'There are just too many taxes in France, said Veronique Lestrade, a demonstrator in Paris, who said her family was struggling to make ends meet.
In 18 months in power, Macron has seen off trade unions and street demonstrations as he loosened labour laws and overhauled the heavily-indebted state rail operator SNCF in a bid to reboot the economy.
Derided by political opponents as 'the president of the rich for measures such as the end of a wealth tax, Macron's popularity has dwindled to 21%.
Tax hikes on fuel and tobacco as well as an increase to a social welfare levy before other tax cuts came into force have left some voters feeling squeezed.
The diesel tax increases, designed to encourage drivers to switch to more environmentally-friendly cars, were approved in late 2017 but began to bite when oil prices surged in October, angering some in the provinces who rely on their cars to get to work.
'We're showing that the French do not support their government's policies, said Franck Deroo, a 47-year-old electrician at a blockade on a highway near the Belgian border in Neuville-en-Ferrain, northern France.
'I happily voted for Macron in 2017, but he's really making fun of us, said Dominique Jouvert, 63, a retired civil servant demonstrating in Lyon. 'There's no discussion to be had with him, no dialogue, he's arrogant. I won't vote for him again.
The movement enjoys much more public support than others against Macron since he swept to the presidency last year.
An Elabe poll last week found that 73% of respondents backed the movement.
In a TV interview this week Macron admitted he had 'not succeeded in reconciling the French with their leaders and that 'we have probably not given them enough consideration.
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