LATEST on Tuesday:

Road blocks are back in place in many French regions

However numbers protesting drop to around 10,000

Interior Minister blasts the radicalisation of the movement

Police ordered to clear the blockades

Images show protesters burning motorway toll near Bordeaux

Some 528 people have been injured since Saturday

92 police and gendarmes have been injured including 17 seriously

France's 'yellow vest' protests entered the fourth day on Tuesday but the movement appeared to be losing steam with only around 10,000 people still manning the barricades nationwide, down from nearly 300,000 on Saturday.

But the movement could easily gain strength at the weekend when further protests are planned with some calling for a mass blockade of Paris.

Protesters are determined to keep up the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron who they blame for a rise in the price of petrol and a loss of their spending power.

The French government has become increasingly concerned and frustrated that the movement has become radicalised.

After images were published online showing yellow vest wearing protesters burning a motorway toll at Virsac, the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced a "total drift" of the movement suggesting that while it was mainly good natured on Saturday it has now become radicalised.

En Gironde, des gilets jaunes mettent le feu à des automates au poste de péage de Virsac pic.twitter.com/LNNB9AMlda — BFMTV (@BFMTV) November 20, 2018

"We can see today that there has been a "total drift" (dérive totale") of a movement that was mainly held in good spirits on Saturday," he told France 2 radio.

"We can see there is a radicalisaton with incoherent demands that are all over the place," Castaner said.

The interior minister announced that 92 police and gendarmes had been injured.

Speaking on Monday evening Castaner appealed to protesters to end the road blocks.

"I make a solemn but firm appeal to protesters to carry on demonstrating if they wish but not to block or attack the people's freedom. The operations to clear the blockades will continue," he said.

Some 28,000 protesters took part in go-slow and road blocks on Monday. One person was accidentally killed and 528 people have been injured, 17 seriously, during the "Yellow Vest" protests.

(Protesters against police at Virsac on the A10 near Bordeaux. AFP)

Protesters against police at Virsac on the A10 near Bordeaux. AFP) As the protests rumbled on, it emerged four men were taken into custody and charged as part of an anti-terrorist investigation in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne on Saturday -- the first day of the blockades -- accused of planning to take advantage of the police mobilisation for the demonstrations to mount a terror attack, according to Le Parisien newspaper.</s>
• Road blocks are back in place in many French regions
• Interior Minister blasts the radicalisation of the movement
• Some 528 people have been injured since Saturday
• 92 police and gendarmes have been injured including 17 seriously

France's 'yellow vest' protests entered the fourth day on Tuesday with the government becoming increasingly concerned and frustrated that the movement has become radicalised.

After images were published online showing yellow vest wearing protesters burning a motorway toll at Virsac, the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced a "total drift" of the movement suggesting that while it was mainly good natured on Saturday it has now become radicalised.

"We can see today that there has been a "total drift" (dérive totale") of a movement that was mainly held in good spirits on Saturday," he told France 2 radio.

"We can see there is a radicalisaton with incoherent demands that are all over the place," Castaner said.

The interior minister announced that 92 police and gendarmes had been injured.

Speaking on Monday evening Castaner appealed to protesters to end the road blocks.

"I make a solemn but firm appeal to protesters to carry on demonstrating if they wish but not to block or attack the people's freedom. The operations to clear the blockades will continue," he said.

Some 28,000 protesters took part in go-slow and road blocks on Monday but there has been no indication of how many people are expected to take part on Tuesday.

But a number of protesters were back building new barricades on Tuesday determined to keep up the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who they blame for a rise in the price of petrol and a loss of their spending power.

One person was accidentally killed and 528 people have been injured, 17 seriously, during the "Yellow Vest" protests. Protesters against police at Virsac on the A10 near Bordeaux. AFP) As the protests rumbled on, it emerged four men were taken into custody and charged as part of an anti-terrorist investigation in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne on Saturday -- the first day of the blockades -- accused of planning to take advantage of the police mobilisation for the demonstrations to mount a terror attack, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

One of the suspects texted his fiancee saying, "It's going to bleed on November 17", the newspaper said. Officials were not immediately available to READ ALSO: 'Stay calm': Advice for drivers in France caught in the 'yellow vest' road blocks On Tuesday, in the town of Cournon-d'Auvergne, located in the outskirts of Clermont-Ferrand in central France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region a fuel depot has been blocked since Monday evening by protesters, according to local reports. Meanwhile in the Yonne department in the northeastern Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, the demonstrators set up on Tuesday morning on the roundabout of Rosa Park, south of the town of Sens after riot police were forced to unblock a site in the same area where 200 trucks were immobilized. In the Côtes-d'Armor, "yellow vests" are reportedly still present in the towns of Plaintel, Langueux, Loudéac, Dinan and Guingamp. However, dozens of "yellow vests" that were blocking the oil depot of Vern-sur-Seiche, south of Rennes, were removed by the riot police at around 6:45 am on Tuesday. In the Indre department, a filtered blockade is affecting traffic in the centre of the town of Saint-Maur, with traffic also being filtered in Argenton-sur-Creuse. In the town of Montierchaume, the roads are totally blocked between Châteauroux and Issoudun. And in Corsica, the "yellow vests" have lifted the blockade of the Marana oil depot, south of Bastia however they have warned that there may be further action. On Monday, security forces cleared protesters from several sites, including a suspension bridge leading to the southwestern city of Bordeaux that had been</s>Protesters angry over high fuel prices were expected to block access to French fuel depots and stop traffic on major roads for a fourth day Tuesday, incensed by the government's refusal to scrap anti-pollution taxes.

One person was accidentally killed and 528 people have been injured, 17 seriously, during the "Yellow Vest" protests that have galvanised resistance to President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies.

As the protests rumbled on, it emerged four men were taken into custody and charged as part of an anti-terrorist investigation in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne on Saturday - the first day of the blockades - accused of planning to take advantage of the police mobilisation for the demonstrations to mount a terror attack, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

One of the suspects texted his fiancee saying, "It's going to bleed on November 17", the newspaper said.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on the report.

On Monday, tens of thousands of demonstrators were still manning hundreds of barricades on motorways and petrol stations, down from nearly 300,000 protesters at over 2,000 sites on Saturday.

Oil giant Total confirmed that some of its trucks had been prevented from reaching depots in the south and east of the country, causing alarm among small business owners.

"The worst thing would be to block the economy and make the whole situation worse," Alain Griset, head of the U2P federation of small and medium-sized businesses said in a statement.

On Monday, security forces cleared protesters from several sites, including a suspension bridge leading to the southwestern city of Bordeaux that had been blocked for three days.

'Much more than fuel'

The "Yellow Vest" movement - named after the high-visibility vests motorists are required to carry in their cars - was sparked by rising diesel prices, which many blame on taxes implemented in recent years as part of France's anti-pollution fight.

It quickly snowballed into a protest by rural and small-town France over falling spending power of the less well-off under Macron, assailed as a "president of the rich".

"It's about much more than fuel. They (the government) have left us with nothing," Dominique, a 50-year-old unemployed technician told AFP at a roadblock in the town of Martigues, near the southern city of Marseille.

Macron's government, which is trying to buff its environmental credentials, has vowed not to back down on trying to wean people off their cars through fuel taxes.

While the number of protesters has fallen since the weekend, in tandem with plummeting temperatures, further large-scale demonstrations are planned.

Two separate calls for mass protests in Paris on November 24 were widely circulated on social media.

The start of the protests was marred by the death of a 63-year-old demonstrator, who was run down by a panicked motorist at a roadblock in the eastern Savoie region.

Several other people were injured in attempts by truck drivers and motorists to force their way through barricades.

A 32-year-old man was sentenced to four months in prison Monday for endangering life by taking part in a human chain on a highway in the northeast of France.

Fresh clashes Sunday in the "yellow vest" fuel price protests across France led to more injuries to add to the more than 400 already reported by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

Although the protests appeared to be less widespread than those seen at the 87 locations tallied by the interior ministry overnight, protestors again clashed with police - and sometimes motorists.

Sunday's protests touched several regions across France, but their intensity appeared to be diminishing, according to AFP journalists.

Police were searching for a motorist who forced a road block at Saint-Quentin, northeast France, leaving one protestor seriously injured.

And police used tear gas to break up a gathering of about a thousand protestors near the northern city of Caen, after vandalism of traffic radar and the burning of wooden pallets.

Earlier Sunday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner reported that the first day and night of protests had left one person dead and more than 400 people hurt, 14 seriously.

The injury toll followed what Castaner described as a "restive" night in 87 locations around the country, where protesters had blocked roads to express their anger at a series of hikes in petrol tax.

The injured, 409 in total, included 28 police, paramilitary police or firefighters.

French retail group Auchan reported violent incidents at around 20 shopping centres where it operates hypermarkets.

Castaner told RTL radio that 288,000 people had taken part in Saturday's protests at 2,034 locations countrywide.

About 3,500 stayed out overnight, he added.

Police questioned 282 protesters in total, 73 during the night, of whom 157 were taken into custody.

"Last night was restive... There were assaults, fights, stabbings," Castaner said.

"There were fights among 'yellow vest' protesters."

Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said Sunday the government was aware of unhappiness over high fuel taxes, but said it had "a duty" to transform the French economy with the aim of making it less oil-dependent.

A poll published Sunday in the Journal de Dimanche weekly said that 62 percent of those questioned believed their purchasing power was more important than a fast transition towards renewable energy.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was to appear on national TV Sunday evening to discuss the protests.</s>Protesters angry over high fuel prices blocked access to fuel depots and stopped traffic on major roads Monday after the government refused to back down on fuel taxes following a weekend of demonstrations across France.

A spokesman for French oil giant, Total said protesters blocked access to three fuel depots on Monday. Two of the depots, one in Vern, near the northwest city of Rennes, and the other in Fos-sur-Mer in the south, are operated by Total, the spokesman said.

The third depot, part-owned but not run by Total, is at La Rochelle, the spokesman said.

More than 400 people were injured during the “yellow vest” protests which began Saturday with nearly 300,000 participants country-wide.

Early Monday, dozens of barricades were still being manned on motorways and roundabouts, but far fewer than the more than 2,000 sites on Saturday and 150 on Sunday.

Other protesters continued to camp out in supermarket parking lots.

“The movement is not exceptional... and obviously isn’t as big as on Saturday,” Laurent Nunez, junior interior minister, told CNews, adding that police would continue to intervene to ensure major roads are not blocked.

A handful of skirmishes were reported overnight, including in the northern port city of Calais where an Australian truck driver was detained after trying to force his way through a barricade.

A British motorist was also detained trying to break through a barricade in Calais.

The grassroots movement emerged on social media last month over a surge in fuel prices this year, in particular for diesel, which many blame on taxes implemented in recent years as part of France’s anti-pollution fight.

It quickly snowballed into a broader protest over stagnant spending power under President Emmanuel Macron.

“I earn 500 euros ($570) a month how do you expect me to live on that? With what I earn I can only allow myself one meal a day,” said Jean-Luc, a 57-year-old protesting in Calais.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Sunday night that the government had heard the anger, but that it would maintain the fuel taxes, which are set to increase again in January.

Last week, the government unveiled a 500 million euro package of measures to help low-income households, including energy subsidies and higher scrappage bonuses for the purchase of cleaner vehicles.

But even some lawmakers in Macron’s Republic on the Move (LREM) party are urging the government to do more to help ease fuel and energy costs as winter approaches.

“We need to maintain environmental taxes, [French PM Philippe] is right to reiterate this, but we also need more measures to assist the French, especially the middle classes and the less well-off,” LREM lawmaker Matthieu Orphelin told RFI radio on Monday.</s>
• Exit and entry points to motorways also blocked
• Young protesters in serious condition after being hit by lorry
• French PM vows not to cave in to protests

Road blocks were put up across France for a third day on Monday despite the "yellow vest" movement being on a much smaller scale than was seen on Saturday.

Nevertheless the fact the protesters are willing to continue their action into a third day will concern the French government, whose Prime Minister Edouard Philippe vowed on Sunday to stick to their plan to raise fuel taxes in January.

On Monday protesters, whose anger over rising fuel prices has been directed at President Emmanuel Macron, blocked several fuel depots around the country including one in Vern-sur-Seiche near Rennes, Pallice near La Rochelle, Fos-sur-Mer near Marseille and Lespinasse near Toulouse.

There were also spontaneous road blocks and go-slows set up a roundabouts and motorway exit points across the country.

Late on Sunday night a young protester was left in a serious condition after being hit by a lorry at a road block in Saint-Dizier in the Haute-Marne department.

The latest reports at around 8am on Monday suggested the A7 was blocked in both directions near Avignon, blockades were also in place on the A51 near Sisteron. Access to Nimes in the south east was "complicated" and there were at least three road blocks set up around Bordeaux.

In Bordeaux the Pont d'Aquitaine was closed to traffic and a road block was in place on Pont François-Mitterand.

There were also operations in place near Nantes, Rennes, Calais, Caen and Mans. The situation may change rapidly with the government insisting police will be sent in to move the protesters on and open up the roads to traffic.

This map below shows the locations of the latest blockades on Monday according to the site blocage17november.com.

More than 400 people were hurt on Saturday, 14 seriously, in a day and night of "yellow vest" protests over rising fuel price hikes around France that claimed one life, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Sunday.</s>A second person died in France amid nationwide protests against fuel tax hikes that saw hundreds injured and key roads paralyzed by demonstrations. The French Interior Ministry sent its "sincere condolences" in a statement to the family and friends of a motorcyclist killed in an accident near a dam Monday in the southeastern Drome region. The ministry did not give details about how he was killed.

Hundreds of thousands of people blockaded roads across France on the weekend, wearing high-visibility yellow vests in a national wave of defiance aimed at President Emmanuel Macron. The protests had waned by Tuesday but the disruption underlined the anger and frustration felt by many motorists, particularly in rural areas or small towns, fed up with what they see as the government's anti-car policies, including tax hikes on diesel. Only a fraction of the nearly 300,000 people that manned the barricades on Saturday still camped out in the bitter cold. Further protests are planned for the weekend, with some calling for a blockade of Paris. Protests have also erupted in Reunion, a French overseas territory island in the Indian Ocean, where authorities introduced a partial curfew in some neighborhoods after a night of violence.

The Interior Ministry condemned the violence that has led to 552 people injured, 17 seriously, over four days of protests that have come to encompass a wide variety of grievances over the rising cost of living. The centrist Macron, who has made a point of not backing down in the face of public pressure during his time in office, called Tuesday for more "dialogue" to better explain his policies. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, meanwhile, urged ruling Republic on the Move lawmakers to stand firm in the face of voter criticism, saying the party would reap the rewards of its "constancy and determination."

Agence France-Presse (AFP) judicial sources on Tuesday denied media reports that a group of men arrested earlier this month in the city of Saint-Etienne on suspicion of plotting an attack had planned to strike during Saturday's fuel protests.

The grassroots movement, which has won backing from opposition parties on both the left and right as well as a majority of respondents in opinion polls, accuses Macron of squeezing the less well-off while reducing taxes for the rich. "It's about much more than fuel. They [the government] have left us with nothing" Dominique, a 50-year-old unemployed technician told AFP at a roadblock in the town of Martigues, near the southern city of Marseille.

Macron's government, trying to improve its environmental credentials, has vowed not to back down on trying to wean people off their cars through fuel taxes. The government has unveiled a 500-million-euro package of measures to help low-income households, including energy subsidies and higher scrappage bonuses for the purchase of cleaner vehicles.</s>PARIS (Reuters) - Protesters angered by higher fuel taxes blocked access to three oil depots in France and sporadic unrest erupted in the overseas territory of Reunion, in a third day of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms.

Up to 20,000 protesters clad in fluorescent high-visibility jackets blocked highways across France with burning barricades and convoys of slow-moving trucks, as the government showed no sign of backtracking on a further fuel tax hike on Jan. 1.

French oil and gas giant Total said it operated two of the three affected depots on mainland France, one in Vern, near the northwest city of Rennes, and the other in Fos-sur-Mer in the south. A fourth depot was blocked on Reunion, a former French colony that lies between Mauritius and Madagascar.

The so-called “yellow vest” movement was born out of a backlash against higher fuel prices, but has tapped a broader frustration at the perceived squeeze in household spending power and mounting public dissatisfaction with Macron.

The price of diesel at the pump has increased by about 20 percent in the past year to an average of 1.49 euros ($1.68)/liter, according to website www.carbu.com Some of the increase is due to rising global oil prices earlier in the year.

A protester was killed at the weekend when a panicked driver ran her down at a blockade in the southeastern department of Savoie and more than 400 people were hurt in sometimes violent confrontations between drivers and demonstrators.

In Reunion, looters on Monday ransacked a shopping mall in the south of the island and many businesses remained shuttered after mobs torched 70 cars at a dealership and trashed a fast-food outlet. Roadblocks paralyzed traffic on some of Reunion’s main highways.

In 18 months in power, Macron has stared down trade unions and street protests as he loosened labor laws and overhauled the heavily indebted state rail operator SNCF, unflinching in his resolve to inject new energy into the French economy.

However, derided by political opponents and left-leaning voters as a “president of the rich”, the former investment banker’s popularity has dwindled to new lows.

A survey for pollster IFOP published on Monday showed a four-point fall in the past month in his approval rating, with just one in four people satisfied with his performance.

In a sign the “yellow vest” protests might impact the economy if they persist, shopping malls saw revenues fall by an estimated 35 percent on Saturday, according to consultancy group Nielsen.

Organizers have vowed to continue their protests until the government drops the taxes.</s>PARIS: Protesters angry over high fuel prices blocked access to fuel depots and stopped traffic on major roads on Monday with the government refusing to back down on fuel taxes after a weekend of demonstrations across France.

One person was accidentally killed and more than 400 people injured during the “yellow vest” protests which began Saturday with nearly 300,000 participants nationwide.Early Monday, dozens of barricades were still being manned on motorways and roundabouts, far fewer than the more than 2,000 sites on Saturday.

Around 200 trucks were backed up along a road leading to a fuel depot in the western city of Rennes, where some protesters had camped out overnight, an AFP reporter said. Others continued to camp out in supermarket parking lots. “The movement is not exceptional... and obviously isn’t as big as on Saturday,” Laurent Nunez, junior interior minister, told CNews, adding that police would continue to intervene to ensure major roads are not blocked.

But further large-scale protests are already being planned. A call by a member of the rightwing Debout La France (Stand Up France) party for protesters to descend on Paris on Saturday and “block” the city has been viewed over 165,000 times on Facebook.</s>French police moved to dislodge protesters blocking roads and fuel depots on Tuesday as the government took a harder line on the so-called “yellow vest” movement against environmental taxes on fuel.

Hundreds of thousands of people blockaded roads across France on Saturday wearing high-visibility yellow vests in a national wave of defiance aimed at centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

The disruption underlined the anger and frustration felt by many motorists, particularly in rural areas or small towns, who are fed up with what they see as Macron’s anti-car policies, including tax hikes on diesel.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has instructed police to begin breaking up the remaining roadblocks, particularly those around fuel depots and sites of strategic importance.

“We can see today that there are real excesses from a movement that was for the most part conducted in good spirit on Saturday,” he told France 2 TV.

One person was accidentally killed and 530 people have been injured, 17 seriously, over four days of protests that have come to encompass a wide variety of grievances over the rising cost of living.

Several of the injuries were caused by motorists trying to force their way through roadblocks, but some protesters have also been accused of intimidating people or putting their lives in danger.

A 32-year-old man with a history of violence was given a four-month prison sentence by a Strasbourg court for endangering lives by forming a human chain to cross a motorway.

Elsewhere, four men in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne were arrested and charged with planning to take advantage of the heavy police deployment at the weekend to mount a terror attack, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

On Tuesday, the movement appeared to be losing steam with only around 10,000 people still manning the barricades nationwide, down from nearly 300,000 on Saturday.

Further protests are planned at the weekend with some calling for a blockade of Paris.

The “yellow vest” movement, which began on social media and has won backing from opposition parties on both the left and right, accuses Macron of squeezing the less well-off while reducing taxes on the rich.

“It’s about much more than fuel. They (the government) have left us with nothing,” Dominique, a 50-year-old unemployed technician told AFP at a roadblock in the town of Martigues, near the southern city of Marseille.

Macron’s government, which is trying to improve its environmental credentials, has vowed not to back down on trying to wean people off their cars through fuel taxes.

The government has unveiled a 500-million-euro package of measures to help low-income households, including energy subsidies and higher scrappage bonuses for the purchase of cleaner vehicles.</s>A number of Total's fuel depots were blockaded by 'yellow vest' protesters, angry over skyrocketing gasoline prices in France, as massive demonstrations continue to rage across the country.. Two facilities, one near the northwest city of Rennes, and the other in Fos-sur-Mer in the south, are operated by Total, the spokesman said.The third depot blocked by the demonstrators is partially owned but not run by the corporation and is located in La Rochelle.Aside from the fuel depots, France's major motorways and roundabouts remain blocked by dozens of barricades. Other protesters continued to camp out in parking lots outside supermarkets.Many demonstrators wear distinctive yellow vests which became a recognizable symbol of a grassroots movement behind the protests.A new wave of protests erupted this Saturday with almost 300,000 people taking to the streets of French cities to spew anger at President Emmanuel Macron and the French government who recently decided to raise fuel prices through additional environmental taxes."Gasoline prices never stop rising. It's the straw that broke the camel's back. Macron and his buddies just let... things go from bad to worse," one protester told RT this weekend.The measure, meant to combat air pollution, was predictably met with little praise by the French people. At one point, the protests even turned violent, leaving over 400 people injured, according to France24.The movement first emerged on social media last month over a surge in fuel prices this year, and quickly snowballed into a broader umbrella organization.Police deployed numerous officers to protests-hit areas but bringing the situation fully under control proved to be quite a challenge.
France's "Yellow Vest" protests over fuel taxes enter their fourth day as around 10,000 people continue to block roads around the country.