Paris 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.
French President Emmanuel Macron assesses the damages of the 'Yellow Vests' protest earlier on the week. Source: AAP
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.
The demonstrations, which degenerated into street clashes and vandalism in Paris over the weekend, erupted last month over the fuel taxes which are financing France's anti-pollution efforts.
A 'Marianne' keeps a false Macron in chains amid the riots. Source: Press Association
Originally spurred by the soaring cost of fuel this year, they quickly ballooned into a wider revolt over President Emmanuel Macron, accused of pursuing policies which hit low-income households particularly hard.
Halting the fuel tax increase was one of the main demands listed by "yellow vest" leaders, alongside a higher minimum wage and the return of a wealth tax on high-earners abolished last year.
A yellow vest with the words 'block everything' on his back gestures toward riot police. Source: EPA
