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Video shared on social media shows flames leaping from the site of the oil depot near the southwestern French city of La Rochelle.

One reporter claimed the rioters drilled a hole in the bottom of the depot before the police stormed the site.

Sotiri Dimpinoudis, who claims to be a freelance journalist based in Belgium, shared footage from the blaze on Twitter.

He said protesters had set fire to wooden barricades and piled them up underneath the oil tank.

Sotiri added: "The protestors have reportedly drilled a hole at the bottom of the depot and have set that on fire with the wood barricades!"

(Image: GETTY/TWITTER/SOTIRIDI) (Image: TWITTER/SOTIRIDI)

Later, he tweeted to say the police had stormed the site and firefighters were tackling the blaze.

The "Gilets Jaunes" or Yellow Vests began as an online protest in France back in May, before the violence began spilling onto the streets in November.

Many ordinary French people were furious after President Emmanuel Macron brought in economic reforms, including a surge in fuel taxes.

The price of fuel in France has soared by more than 20% in the past year to around €1.49 (£1.34) per litre.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)

On November 17, around 20,000 protestors dressed in fluorescent high-vis jackets blocked highways across France with convoys of slow-moving trucks and burning barricades.

At first Macron's government stood firm on its planned further fuel tax increases, which were due to start in January 2019.

But on December 5, the French government backed down and agreed to roll back the tax hikes.

This has not stopped the protests, which have continued to grow, as many call for massive economic reforms and the resignation of Macron.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)

President Macron has praised emergency services, thanking them for their "courage" and "extreme professionalism".

On Sunday, Daily Star Online reported a French protester's hand was blown off by a grenade in the southwestern city of Bordeaux as parts of the country became a warzone.

Armoured vehicles bearing the EU flag stormed Paris as protestors brought the city to a standstill.

And violence has spilled out beyond France as rioters in Brussels torch police cars and clash with cops.