One protester has died and 106 others injured in riots over French fuel taxes, in a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron.
Police officers lobbed tear gas canisters at demonstrators on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday as groups tried to make their way to the presidential Elysee Palace.
Hundreds of protesters entered the bottom of the street, which is dotted with luxury shops and the palace, where Macron lives.
Demonstrators were seen on BFMTV talking with riot police when officers suddenly raised their shields and pushed the group back.
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French Interior Ministry officials estimated at midday that about 244,000 protesters were involved in some 2,000 demonstrations around the country.
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The protester who died, a 63-year-old woman, was killed when a driver caught in traffic accelerated in a panic at Pont-de-Beauvoisin, near Chambery, according to Louis Laugier, the prefect, or top state official, in the eastern Savoie region.
According to various French media reports, others reportedly knocked on her car as she tried to take her daughter to a hospital.
An investigation has been opened.
Five people were seriously injured, while the others had more minor injuries, the Interior Ministry said in an early evening statement, raising an earlier count.
It said 52 people were detained and 38 held for questioning.
Protesters, wearing yellow safety vests and dubbing themselves the yellow jackets, pledged to target tollbooths, roundabouts and the bypass that ring Paris.
Hundreds of protesters took over the Place de la Concorde at the bottom of the avenue, shouting Macron resign as police looked on.
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Tensions rose when a group of protesters moved in front of the US Embassy, which is located on a corner of the Place.
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The rise in fuel taxes, notably for diesel fuel, have sparked outrage by citizens who feel the president has asked ordinary citizens to make the largest efforts in his bid to transform France.
The taxes are part of Macrons strategy to wean France off fossil fuels. Many drivers see them as emblematic of a presidency they view as disconnected from day-to-day economic difficulties and serving the rich.
Robert Tichit, 67, a retiree, referred to the president as King Macron, and added: Weve had enough of it. There are too many taxes in this country.
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