Protester killed in accident during French road blockades
People wearing yellow vests, a symbol of a French drivers' protest against higher fuel prices, gather to block the ring road in Paris, France, November 17, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
PARIS (Reuters) - A motorist on Saturday accidentally hit and killed a protester taking part in a campaign of road blockades across France that has been triggered by fuel tax hikes, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.
The demonstrators are trying to block motorways as well as access to fuel depots in a grassroots movement dubbed the “yellow vests” that began as a backlash against the higher fuel taxes introduced by President Emmanuel Macron.
At a blockade on a road in the southeastern department of Savoie, a driver panicked when she saw protesters barring the way and accelerated, hitting and killing a woman demonstrator, Castaner and the local prefect said in televised comments.
Reporting by Sarah White and Caroline Pailliez; Editing by Gareth Jones
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