Yahoo News Yellow vest protests: Sixth demonstrator dies in France as tensions rise across the nation
A sixth "yellow vest" protester has died as violent demonstrations continue across France.
They were hit by a truck at a protest roadblock, authorities said on Thursday.
Officials in the Vaucluse department said a truck driver was arrested and taken into custody.
He had tried to flee the scene, near the southern city of Avignon.
The Vaucluse prefect's office said the injured protester received emergency treatment following the incident but died died from his wounds overnight.
The official urged the protesters to use "the utmost caution" to avoid more accidents.
On Wednesday night, French police were sent to reopen a major road in Burgundy where "people identifying themselves as yellow vests" had blocked about 200 trucks for several hours, according to local authorities.
Some eleven protesters were arrested and six of them were put into custody.
In an effort to defuse the tensions sweeping the country, French President Emmanuel Macron has stated he feels somewhat responsible for the anger behind the anti-government protests.
The embattled President has announced a series of measures aimed at improving French workers' spending power.
However, many protesters have expressed disappointment at the measures and are proposing more protests across France on Saturday.
Fearing more violent protests this weekend, authorities have already postponed seven French league soccer matches.
The protests began over a fuel tax and then went on to embody anger at a raft of other government policies.
Despite criticism over his handling of France's social crisis, Mr Macron's centrist government easily won a no-confidence vote Thursday in the lower house of parliament.
Just 70 out of 577 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion brought by far-left and Socialist lawmakers.
His party and its allies have a strong majority at the National Assembly.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he would never put Europe ahead of the demands of the French people,
This was after he caved in to the anti-tax revolt by announcing costly measures set to increase the French budget deficit.
"No country can move forward if it doesn't listen to the legitimate anger of its people, an anger which is expressed everywhere in Europe," Macron told reporters ahead of an European Union summit in Brussels.
"I will never carry out the European project, in which I believe, against aspirations I consider as legitimate. I think they can be reconciled and that's what we're trying to do."
The tax breaks and other measures he is offering to appease the yellow vest protestors are likely to push France's budget deficit above the European Commission threshold, which is three percent of GDP.
