A protestor was killed on Saturday when a panicked motorist accidentally rammed one of the hundreds of roadblocks set up across France by so-called “yellow vest” demonstrators angry at rising fuel prices.
In Paris, several hundred demonstrators chanting “Macron, resign,” tried to reach the gates of the Elysée, the residence and offices of president Emmanuel Macron, before being pushed back by riot police using tear gas.
The protestor who was killed died after being hit by a car driven by a woman trying to bring her daughter to the doctor in the southeastern Savoie region.
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She panicked when protesters surrounded the vehicle and began banging on the roof.
In Quimper, Brittany, dozens of protestors battled with police in front of the local government offices, where a woman accidentally drove into two police officers.
At least 229 people were injured – seven on them seriously – around the country, according to the interior ministry. One person in the north was run over by a car and left in a critical state, and a policeman in the southern town of Grasse hit by a driver trying to force his way through a blockade.
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One frustrated motorist even drew a gun and fired two shots in the air after his route was blocked in the Mediterranean town of Marseillan.
At least 282,000 people, most of them wearing yellow high-visibility vests, took part in 2,039 protests at roundabouts and motorway exits, according to interior ministry figures.
In January the price of diesel is set to go up by seven cents a litre, and petrol by three cents. Diesel vehicle owners, still a majority in France, feel betrayed after decades of the state encouraging diesel engines.
Currently petrol costs €1.54 (£1.34) a litre and diesel €1.51 a litre. In Britain petrol costs on average £1.25 and diesel £1.33 a litre.
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With almost 80 per cent of the public backing the “yellow vest” protests, the president held a crisis meeting to find ways of softening the impact on the poor and came up with a raft of sweeteners worth around €500 million (£437m).
These include more financial incentives to exchange old cars for cleaner ones as well as the number of French entitled to “energy cheques”.
"I happily voted for Macron in 2017, but he’s really making fun of us," Dominique Jouvert, 63, a retired civil servant demonstrating in Lyon’s city centre, told AP.
"There’s no discussion to be had with him, no dialogue, he’s arrogant. "What’s certain is that I won’t vote for him again," he said.