In Pictures: France's 'yellow vests' fuel protests

The "yellow vests" movement, named for the high-visibility jackets worn by supporters, erupted on social media last month with calls for mass blockades of roads and highways.

Anger over fuel costs, blamed on taxes imposed by President Emmanuel Macron to fight pollution, has been simmering for months, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas where public transport is patchy.

READ ALSO:

• France braces for travel turmoil as 'yellow vests' take on Macron
• Why French police fear Saturday's nationwide fuel price protests
• Fuel protests in France: MAP reveals locations of planned road blocks
• How the 'yellow vests' are planning to block France's roads on Saturday

Demonstrators wearing yellow vests (Gilets jaunes) holding a Brittany flag in La Meziere, western France. Photo: AFP

Protestors on the RN 90 road between Albertville and Chambery, central eastern France. Photo: AFP

Demonstrators hold banners reading "angry VTC (Vehicle for Transport with Driver)" near the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris. Photo: AFP 

Flares were lit during a demonstration in Vendenheim, eastern France. Photo: AFP

Yves Duval, a 70-year-old retiree, told AFP he joined the Yellow Vests "for my grandchildren, because once their parents have paid all the taxes, they have nothing left to bring them out, to the restaurant or amusement park."

Yves Duval drives his motorbike near Porte d'Auteuil, on the Paris ring road. Photo: AFP

Gabriel Francois, a boiler maker, told AFP he joined the movement because "between a so-called solidarity and a proper racket there is a big difference". 

Gabriel Francois with protestors in front of a Carrefour Market in Givors, East central France. Photo: AFP

Police watch as demonstrators wearing yellow vests block the traffic early on Saturday near Porte d'Auteuil on the Paris ring road. Photo: AFP