French PM puts fuel tax hikes on hold

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has confirmed the suspension of France's fuel tax hikes.

People wearing yellow vests block access to an oil refinery in France

Source: AAP

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced a six-month moratorium on petrol and diesel tax hikes, after increasingly angry protests across the country in recent weeks.

Planned rises in electricity and gas prices and plans to tighten safety checks on vehicles will also be suspended while a national consultation process takes place, he said.

The so-called "yellow vests" protests, which started on November 17, have focused on denouncing a squeeze on household spending brought about by President Emmanuel Macron's taxes on diesel.

No tax rise "can be worth putting the unity of the nation at risk," Philippe said, announcing the measures in a brief televised address on Tuesday.

More than 100 people were injured in Paris and 412 arrested over the weekend during France's worst urban riot in years, with dozens of cars torched.


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Source: AAP



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