France was shaken Saturday by the biggest demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron took office as police responded with tear gas against protesters who blocked traffic in a grassroots movement that coalesced around demands for lower gasoline taxes.
Parisian traffic was snarled as more than 1,000 people marched in the center of the capital, and one protester died in southeastern France after being hit by a car whose driver panicked amid a road blockade. More than 2,000 rallies took place across the country, gathering more than 282,000 protesters, according to the government.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said 227 people were injured and dozens arrested amid standoffs throughout the country between protesters who sought to block traffic and drivers. Demonstrators entered a government building in Troyes, in northeastern France.
The day’s events place Macron in a delicate position as he strives to take the heat out of a movement which has morphed from a demand to lower gasoline taxes into a diffuse expression of anger against high unemployment and difficulties to make ends meet.
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