A woman protester in her 50s was killed Saturday after being struck by a car in the southeastern French region of Savoie during protests over a new petrol tax, with five others sustaining serious injuries throughout the day after being hit by cars, and over 220 suffering less serious injuries, according to police.
Police arrested at least 117 protesters during the course of the demonstrations, and deployed riot police and tear gas in some areas to disperse protesters.
The protest movement, described as the 'yellow vests' movement on social media due to their distinctive high-visibility reflective vests of the kind often used by road workers, took over cities, towns, and rural areas across France, protesting fuel prices which have jumped 10-25 percent this year, as well as the new 3 eurocent per litre tax on gasoline which will take affect in January 2019.
Sputnik France covered protests in and around Paris and in Nimes, southern France, with demonstrations beginning early Saturday morning along the capital's ring road.
Protests continued into the afternoon in the center of the capital.
📸 #SputnikPhotos Les manifestants s'approchaient de l'#Élysée. Après avoir entonné la #Marseillaise, les gens scandent #Macrondémission https://t.co/uNxVGb4oDX #17novembre #GiletsJaunes pic.twitter.com/4ShguIC0od
— Sputnik France (@sputnik_fr) 17 ноября 2018 г.
Police appeared close to losing control around the Elysee Palace at one point, with protesters singing Le Marseillaise and shouting demands for President Emmanuel Macron to resign.
As evening approached, protesters moved on to the Arc de Triomphe, the National Assembly and other government buildings, with police deployed heavily in the city center and forming a perimeter to prevent demonstrators from moving any closer to Elysee Palace.
As darkness fell, police used tear gas and moved to clear remaining protesters in and around the city center.
In 2018, gas prices across France increased by between 10-15 percent, with the price of diesel jumping nearly 25 percent.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
Frederick FLORIN / AFP
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
Frederick FLORIN / AFP
Sputnik France was able to speak to multiple yellow vest protesters across Paris and Nimes, with people saying they were fed up and that they wanted the state to perk up and listen. At the same time, they emphasized the non-violent nature of their protest. "We are not here to hurt, we are here to show and to say that we are unhappy," one protester said.
"In France, we elected a banker; this was was our biggest mistake, and we are paying the consequences," another protester from Nimes said.
President Emmanuel Macron's government has faced sliding approval ratings in recent months due to a scandal involving his top security man, concerns over France's economic slowdown, and the unpopularity of government plans to cut social spending and raise taxes. In September, a poll by the Institute of Opinion and Marketing Studies found that just 31 percent of the French public approved of the president's performance over his one and a half years in office.
