Bruno Le Maire, France's Finance Minister, has said that nation-wide protests against the rise in fuel prices have adversely affected the economy.
"The recent events have had a severe impact on national economic activities, in the mainland and also in overseas territories, particularly in Reunion," he said, according to Sputnik.
Protests turned violent during the 'yellow vest' protests against fuel price hikes recently. French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the perpetrators for causing unrest, while French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner claimed that members from the far-right community had infiltrated the protests.
There is raging dissent over Macron's push for environmental policies that were implemented under former president Francois Hollande. There have been calls for Macron's resignation as well.
Since this year, the prices of the diesel commodity rose 16 per cent from an average 1.24 Euros (approx Rs. 99.37) per litre to 1.48 Euros (approx Rs. 118.61), which further spiraled to 1.53 Euros (approx Rs. 122.62) last month, according to the French Union of Petroleum Industries (UFIP), the country's oil industry federation.
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