Hundreds injured in French tax protests

PARIS — Holdouts refusing to end protests of fuel tax increases continued to slow traffic around France as the number of injuries from the weekend demonstrations climbed to at least 409 — 14 of them serious, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Sunday.

Grassroots protesters, dubbing themselves “yellow jackets” for the safety jackets French motorists are required to keep in vehicles for emergencies, paralyzed traffic by blocking roads around the country Saturday. Blockades were counted at 150 scattered locations Sunday, Castaner told RTL radio.

The situation throughout the night was “agitated,” he said, with “aggressions, fights, knife-slashing” taking place, including among the protesters. He said 157 people were detained for questioning — double the number reported Saturday night.

The original target of the protests, tax increases on diesel fuel and gasoline, expanded to include French citizens’ decreased buying power and complaints about the policies of President Emmanuel Macron. Macron hasn’t commented on the weekend protests.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Sunday that fuel tax increases would remain in place despite nationwide agitation.

“I hear what the French are saying. It’s very clear,” the prime minister said. “But a government that … zigzags according to the difficulties, what too many past governments have done, that won’t lead France to where it must be.”

Meanwhile, French media reported Sunday that a driver who accelerated in a panic at a roadblock Saturday in the eastern Savoie region, striking and killing a protester, was handed preliminary manslaughter charges.

AP/BOB EDME Demonstrators block cars in Bayonne, southwestern France, on Sunday.