Police fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators in Paris as thousands took to the streets across France to protest over rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.

Tensions have been mounting around the grassroots movement which drew more than a quarter of a million people a week ago to demonstrations from Provence to Normandy and in between. Demonstrators, dubbed ‘yellow jackets’ face riot police during clashes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, as they protest against fuel tax hikes (Kamil Zihnioglu/AP)

A new wave of protests was launched on Saturday, including beneath the Eiffel Tower.

On the nearby Champs-Elysees, police used water cannons and tear gas to try disperse protesters. Protesters flee as police fire tear gas during clashes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris( Kamil Zihnioglu/AP)

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had earlier called for calm and threatened tough police measures against unruly crowds.

Paris alone deployed some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas like the Champs-Elysees, after an unauthorised attempt last week to march on the presidential palace.

Two people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the week of protests, which are posing a big challenge to Mr Macron.



Authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands.

The protesters call themselves the “yellow jackets” after the hi-vis security vests that drivers are required to keep in their vehicles.

A man caused a dramatic stand-off with police on Friday when he donned a neon vest and brandished an apparent grenade at a supermarket in the western city of Angers. He was later arrested. Fuel tax protesters also took to the streets in Lyon (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

Most of the protesters’ anger is targeted at Mr Macron, a pro-business centrist accused of indifference to the struggles of ordinary people.

The president has defended the fuel taxes as necessary to reduce France’s dependence on fossil fuels, but promised to lay out new plans on Tuesday to make the “energy transition” easier. </s> 1 dead, dozens injured in protests across France against fuel taxes

PARIS — One protester was killed and 106 other people were injured Saturday at roadblocks set up around France by citizens angry at rising fuel taxes, posing a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

Police officers lobbed tear gas canisters at demonstrators on the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris as groups tried to make their way to the presidential Elysee Palace. Later, hundreds of protesters entered the street dotted with luxury shops where the palace is located — and where Macron lives.

They were seen on BFMTV talking with riot police when the officers suddenly raised their shields and pushed the group back.

French Interior Ministry officials estimated 244,000 protesters were involved in several thousand demonstrations around the country, many of them spontaneous.

The protester who died, a 63-year-old woman, was killed when a driver caught in traffic accelerated in a panic at Pont-de-Beauvoisin, near Chambery, according to Louis Laugier, the prefect, or top state official, in the eastern Savoie region. An investigation was opened.

Five people were seriously injured, while the others had more minor injuries, the Interior Ministry said. It added 52 people were detained and 38 held for questioning.

Protesters, wearing yellow safety vests and dubbing themselves the “yellow jackets,” pledged to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the highway bypass that rings Paris.

The higher taxes are part of Macron’s strategy to wean France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency they view as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties and serving the rich.

Elaine Ganley is an Associated Press writer. </s> A woman has died during protests against rising petrol and diesel prices and government plans to further hike the tax on vehicle fuel in France.

Another woman driving a car panicked when she encountered a roadblock and ran over a protester, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Saturday on live television.

The accident took place in the town of Pont-de-Beauvoisin, to the north of the city of Grenoble in south-eastern France, according to the minister.

Drivers started blocking roads across the country to protest rising fuel taxes, in a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

Protesters pledged to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that rings Paris on Saturday. The government is preparing to send police to remove protesters and threatening fines.

The taxes are part of Macron's strategy of weaning France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency seen as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties.

The protesters have dubbed themselves the "yellow jackets" because they wear fluorescent vests that all French drivers must keep in their vehicles in case of car troubles.

Separately, ambulances briefly blocked Paris' Champs-Elysees on Friday to protest new rules on ambulance financing and put pressure on Macron's government. </s> Authorities in Paris are bracing for further anti-government protests over the weekend by deploying thousands of security personnel to the area and closing down the city's iconic Eiffel Tower.

The tower, as well as the Louvre museum and several shops along the Champs-Elysees, will close as a precautionary measure amid fears of continued rioting led by the French protest group "Des Gilets Jaunes," or the "Yellow Vests."

The Yellow Vests mobilized over rising gas prices mainly caused by a new tax on diesel fuel, which has lifted prices 16% in 2018. But the demonstrations have grown into a broader protest against the rising costs of living and general displeasure with President Emmanuel Macron's government.

Thousands of protesters have joined in on the riots — the worst in Paris since 1968— burning cars, smashing store-fronts, defacing national symbols, and clashing with police. Last week, police fired 12,000 canisters of tear gas and water cannons at protesters and arrested more than 400 people.

The running clashes have left four people dead, including an elderly woman who was struck by a tear gas canister as she was closing her window in Marseilles, and hundreds more injured.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that 89,000 police officers will be deployed in the capital over the weekend. Local authorities held emergency meetings on Thursday in order to plan for the expected violence, AP reported.

The move to protect the city's famous landmarks follows damage last week to the Arc de Triomphe monument.

On Wednesday, Macron agreed to abandon the controversial diesel tax, which was seen as a victory for the Yellow Vest movement. Still, protests are expected to continue as the group demands broader tax cuts and government aid.

An interior ministry official told AFP that authorities were ready for "significant violence" on Saturday as activists from both ends of the political spectrum expected to make their way through the capital. </s> Drivers in France are blocking roads across the country to protest rising fuel taxes, in a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

Protesters pledge to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that rings Paris on Saturday. The government is preparing to send police to remove protesters and threatening fines.

The taxes are part of Macron's strategy of weaning France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency seen as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties.

The protesters have dubbed themselves the "yellow jackets" because they wear fluorescent vests that all French drivers must keep in their vehicles in case of car troubles.

Separately, ambulances briefly blocked Paris' Champs-Elysees on Friday to protest new rules on ambulance financing and put pressure on Macron's government. </s> Drivers are blocking roads across France to protest against rising fuel taxes, in a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

Drivers are blocking roads across France to protest against rising fuel taxes, in a new challenge to embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

Protesters aim to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that rings Paris, while the government is preparing to send police to remove protesters and threatening fines.

The taxes are part of Mr Macron’s strategy of weaning France off fossil fuels.

Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties.

The protesters have dubbed themselves the “yellow jackets” because they wear fluorescent vests that all French drivers must keep in their vehicles in case of car troubles.

Separately, ambulances briefly blocked Paris’s Champs-Elysees on Friday to protest against new rules on ambulance financing and put pressure on Mr Macron’s government. </s> Scuffles have broken out between police and some French protesters angry over rising taxes for a third straight weekend, after small pockets of demonstrators built barricades in the streets of central Paris and lit fires.

Thousands of police were deployed to try to contain the protests on and around the famed Champs-Elysees avenue.

Most of the protesters, called “yellow jackets” after the fluorescent vests they wear, were peaceful.

But others mixed in with them wore black hoodies and piled up construction materials, including large plywood planks, in the middle of a street near the Arc de Triomphe, and set the debris on fire.

Police responded by firing bursts from a water cannon with back-up from riot officers, who used tear gas on the protesters.

In addition to rising taxes, demonstrators are furious about President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership.

A demonstration last weekend in Paris also turned violent.

Earlier on Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at the top of the Champs-Elysees. Access to the avenue was closed to cars and strictly monitored by police with identity checks and bag inspections.

Police used tear gas to disperse the crowds as some tried to force their way through.

The protests, which began with motorists demonstrating against a fuel tax hike, now involve a broad range of demands related to the country’s high cost of living.

Shopkeepers on the Champs-Elysees prepared for possible new violence, bringing in workers to barricade boutique windows with boards. Decorative iron grates, used last week in barricades, were removed from around trees and outdoor terraces were dismantled.

All subway stations in and around the famous avenue were closed for security reasons, Paris public transport company RATP said.

Last week, French authorities said 8,000 people demonstrated on the Champs-Elysees avenue. Some of the protesters torched barriers and plywood boards. Police fired tear gas and water cannon to push back angry demonstrators.

Since the protests kicked off on November 17, two people were killed and hundreds have been injured in accidents stemming from the protests, and hundreds of protesters and police have also been injured.

Meanwhile, hundreds of road blockades were also held across the country. </s> PARIS (AP) — French police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in Paris on Saturday, as thousands gathered in the capital and staged road blockades across the nation to vent anger against rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

Thousands of police were deployed nationwide to contain the demonstrations, including a tense protest at the foot of the Champs-Elysees where protesters burned barriers and large plywood sheets, wielded placards reading "Death to Taxes" and upturned a large vehicle.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in the clashes, but 18 were detained for various acts including for "throwing projectiles," Paris police told The Associated Press.

"It's going to trigger a civil war and me, like most other citizens, we're all ready," said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.

The famed avenue was speckled with plumes of smoke and neon — owing to the color of the vests the myriad self-styled "yellow jacket" protesters don. French drivers are required to keep neon security vests in their vehicles.

Authorities said that 5,000 protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees alone, with 23,000 protesters in total nationwide.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced protesters from the far-right whom he called "rebellious," as he accused the Marine Le Pen, party leader of the National Assembly, of encouraging them.

In a week of demonstrations that has dominated national news coverage, hundreds have been injured and two people were killed in accidents stemming from the protests.

The Interior Ministry played down the scale of Saturday's demonstrations by highlighting that last week's protest comprised more than 100,000 protesters across the country.

The unrest is proving a major challenge for embattled Macron, who's suffering in the polls and the focus of rage for the demonstrators, who accuse the pro-business centrist of indifference to the struggles of ordinary French.

Macron has insisted the fuel tax rises are a necessary pain to reduce France's dependence on fossil fuels and fund renewable energy investments — a cornerstone of his reforms of the nation. He will defend fresh plans to make the "energy transition" easier on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Paris deployed some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas, after an unauthorized attempt last week to march on the presidential Elysee Palace.

Authorities said protesters have so far not breached a no-go zone set up by authorities around key areas including the presidential palace and the National Assembly on the Left Bank of the Seine River.

But authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands.

A man caused a dramatic standoff with police Friday when he donned a neon vest and brandished an apparent grenade at a supermarket in the western city of Angers. He was later arrested.

Taxes on diesel fuel have gone up seven euro cents (nearly eight U.S. cents) and are to keep climbing in the coming years, Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne has said. The tax on gasoline is to increase 4 euro cents. Gasoline currently costs about 1.64 euros a liter in Paris ($7.06 a gallon), slightly more than diesel.

"When tax is no longer agreed to, it's the start of revolutions in France," far left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon told BFMTV.

Alex Turnbull, Chris Den Hond and Patrick Hermensen contributed to this report. </s> One protester has died and 106 others injured in riots over French fuel taxes, in a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron.

Police officers lobbed tear gas canisters at demonstrators on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday as groups tried to make their way to the presidential Elysee Palace.

Hundreds of protesters entered the bottom of the street, which is dotted with luxury shops and the palace, where Macron lives.

Demonstrators were seen on BFMTV talking with riot police when officers suddenly raised their shields and pushed the group back.

French Interior Ministry officials estimated at midday that about 244,000 protesters were involved in some 2,000 demonstrations around the country.

The protester who died, a 63-year-old woman, was killed when a driver caught in traffic accelerated in a panic at Pont-de-Beauvoisin, near Chambery, according to Louis Laugier, the prefect, or top state official, in the eastern Savoie region.

According to various French media reports, others reportedly knocked on her car as she tried to take her daughter to a hospital.

An investigation has been opened.

Five people were seriously injured, while the others had more minor injuries, the Interior Ministry said in an early evening statement, raising an earlier count.

It said 52 people were detained and 38 held for questioning.

Protesters, wearing yellow safety vests and dubbing themselves the ‘yellow jackets’, pledged to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that ring Paris.

Hundreds of protesters took over the Place de la Concorde at the bottom of the avenue, shouting ‘Macron resign’ as police looked on.

Tensions rose when a group of protesters moved in front of the US Embassy, which is located on a corner of the Place.

The rise in fuel taxes, notably for diesel fuel, have sparked outrage by citizens who feel the president has asked ordinary citizens to make the largest efforts in his bid to transform France.

The taxes are part of Macron’s strategy to wean France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency they view as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties and serving the rich.

Robert Tichit, 67, a retiree, referred to the president as ‘King Macron, and added: ‘We’ve had enough of it. There are too many taxes in this country.’
Violent clashes between French police and protesters last well into the night on the Champs-Élysées in Paris over rising fuel taxes.