One dead as car drives through protest in France

Interior minister Christophe Castaner. PIC/AFP

A 50-year-old man taking part in nationwide protests against rising fuel prices in France died on Saturday after he was hit by a car that accelerated through a human roadblock in the country's southeast, interior minister Christophe Castaner said.

Castaner said a woman taking her child for medical attention panicked when protesters at the roadblock in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, located some 70 km southeast of Lyon, began striking her car. "People hit her car, the driver panicked and she accelerated," the minister told the press. She was arrested in a state of shock, he added.

About 40 demonstrators took part in the roadblock protest in Pont-de-Beauvoisin as part of a nationwide movement dubbed the 'gilets jaunes' (yellow vests).

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever