France has suspended fuel tax hikes which were due in January following protests across the country.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says the tax increases have been suspended for six months.

"This anger, you'd have to be deaf or blind not to see it or hear it," Mr Philippe said in an address.

"The French who have donned yellow vests want taxes to drop, and work to pay. That's also what we want. If I didn't manage to explain it, if the ruling majority didn't manage to convince the French, then something must change."

He added that "no tax should endanger national unity" and the "violence must stop".


Paris fuel protest turns violent

It marks President Emmanuel Macron's first significant U-turn on a major policy since taking power in 2017, three weeks after Mr Philippe insisted the government would not change course.

The protests, which started on 17 November, were focused on denouncing a squeeze on household spending brought about by Mr Macron's taxes on diesel, which he says are necessary to combat climate change.

Image: 'Yellow vest' protesters have been blocking fuel depots

However, they have since evolved into a general anti-Macron demonstration.

Many are criticising the president for pursuing policies they claim favour the richest members of French society.

Protests in Paris on Saturday turned particularly violent, with the Arc de Triomphe defaced and avenues off the capital's Champs Elysees damaged.

More demonstrations are expected at the weekend.

Both Le Monde newspaper and France Info radio said the planned increase will be suspended for several months.

Mr Macron has not spoken publicly about Saturday's violence in Paris since his return from a G20 summit in Argentina at the weekend.

Image: Protesters faced riot police in Paris at the weekend

Four people have been killed during the protests, including an 80-year-old woman who died in hospital on Sunday after being hit by a tear gas canister in Marseille.

Police in Paris said 412 people were arrested during the clashes in the capital on Saturday. More than 100 were injured.

Some of those who appeared in court on Monday had long criminal records for violent crime and clashing with police, but others included a 21-year-old with a master's degree in finance.

The new tax would have seen petrol prices rise by four cents per litre from January.