France fuel protest: One dead as 'yellow vest' blockades begin

A female protester has died after being hit by a car, officials say, as drivers begin disrupting traffic across France in a protest at rising fuel prices.

The woman was struck after a driver panicked and drove towards protesters in south-eastern France, reports said.

Some 50,000 demonstrators, dubbed the "yellow vests" after their high-visibility jackets, have gathered in 1,000 locations, officials say.

They accuse President Emmanuel Macron of abandoning "the little people".

Mr Macron admitted this week that he had not "really managed to reconcile the French people with their leaders".

Nonetheless, he accused his political opponents of hijacking the movement in order to block his reform programme.

Officials have warned that, while they will not stop the protests, they will not allow them to bring the French road network to a standstill.

What has happened so far?
In addition to the death of the protester, confirmed to reporters by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, several more people have reportedly been injured.

In the northern town of Hazebrouck, two people were hurt when a truck driver mounted a pavement and forced the vehicle through protesters, la Voix du Nord newspaper reported.

Two more people were hurt when a blocked driver turned round and collided with two oncoming vehicles near the eastern city of Besançon, L'Est Républicain reported.

In Sélestat near Strasbourg a driver ran over a protester's foot, the DNA regional news website reported.

There were more than 30km (20 miles) of tailbacks in the Paris region, rare for a Saturday morning, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

The protest "would be a failure" if it cost lives, Mr Castaner was quoted by Le Parisien as saying.

"We are very worried. It is important to avoid risks," he said.

Some reporters and yellow vest supporters have been posting footage of protests, such as these actions in the southern cities of Marseille and Toulouse.