France was shaken on 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 fuel taxes.
Parisian traffic was jammed as more than 1,000 people marched in the centre of the capital, and one protester died in south-eastern 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 stand-offs throughout the country between protesters who sought to block traffic and drivers. Demonstrators entered a government building in Troyes, in north-eastern France.
The day’s events place Mr Macron in a delicate position as he strives to take the heat out of a movement which has morphed from a demand to lower fuel taxes into a diffuse expression of anger against high unemployment and difficulties to make ends meet.
“Our level of concern is at maximal level,” Mr Castaner said on Saturday morning. He asked demonstrators to take measures to guarantee safety, saying that “the right to demonstrate is essential in this country and must be protected, but one must also ensure that the minimal organisation of this protest avoids a tragedy of this kind”.
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Demonstrators interrupted traffic on the A13 motorway that links Paris to Normandy and blocked the A4 motorway near Metz in eastern France, according to toll-road operator Sanef. Traffic was also slowed down by many blockades on the A1 motorway north of the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
The government had said it wouldn’t bar any protests, but it wouldn’t allow any roads to be blocked. Mr Macron refused to back down on higher petrol taxes, which is part of a long-term goal of weaning France off fossil fuel.
The social-media-driven movement, which branded itself "gilets jaunes" - after the yellow high-visibility safety vests drivers need to keep in their cars - blames higher taxes on fossil fuels for rising prices at the pump. A petition on Change.org calling for lower fuel taxes gathered about 860,000 signatures. A website www.blocage17novembre.com listed plans for protests in all of France’s 95 mainland departments.
In the run-up to the protests, opposition parties tried to associate themselves with the movement.
Far-left party Unbowed France’s leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said the number of protesters was much higher than the interior ministry’s assessment and accused the government of "dramatising" the movement. Laurent Wauquiez, leader of conservative party The Republicans, took part in a protest in Puy-en-Velay, central France, urging Mr Macron to drop his plans to increases taxes.
"This government hasn't understood the anger of the French," Socialist Party secretary general Olivier Faure said in a statement on Wednesday. "We were the first party to express our total support for this movement," said nationalist leader Marine Le Pen in an interview on November 13 with Le Parisien newspaper.
Mr Macron said on Wednesday that he “hears the anger” but said he was “wary because many different people are trying to piggyback on this movement”. In earlier interviews, he has said he prefers taxing fuel to taxing labour.
The government increased fuel taxes this year and will add another 6.5 cents per litre to diesel and 2.9 cents per litre to petrol at the start of next year, as it tries to bring diesel and petrol taxes in line.
Diesel prices at the pump in France have risen 16 per cent this year to an average €1.48 (Dh6.2) a litre, according UFIP, the French oil industry federation. Petrol is up 5 per cent to €1.47 per litre.
France is trying to end its reliance on diesel, fuelled by decades of government support. Diesel once represented three-quarters of cars sold in France, but the proportion has declined below 40 per cent as it gradually lost its tax advantage. Contrary to its reputation for public transport, about 70 per cent of the French drive to work every day, according to state statistical unit Insee, compared with about 76 per cent in the US.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
