One protester has died and more than a hundred were injured after a nationwide wave of peaceful protests aimed at French president Emmanuel Macron turned to tragedy.

Demonstrators from the gilets jaunes – yellow vests – movement had called for people to turn out and gridlock France’s road network to show their anger at increases in fuel taxes.

As early-morning demonstrators gathered around the country, one person was killed at Pont-de-Beauvoisin in the south-east Savoie region. The local prefect, Louis Laugier, said a motorist taking one of her children to the doctor had been stopped by protesters at a roundabout, but ran over a 63-year-old woman after demonstrators began banging on the roof of her car. “It appears the woman panicked, accelerated and ran over a person who died,” Laugier said. The driver was arrested.

Across France, 106 people were injured, five seriously. In Arras in the north a 71-year-old demonstrator struck by a car suffered serious injuries. Police said most of the accidents were caused by drivers colliding with crowds of protesters as they tried to force their way through roadblocks.

Play Video 1:37 'It's Macron's fault': parts of France in gridlock as thousands protest fuel tax hikes - video

The gilets jaunes movement had called on supporters to force a go-slow outside city centres, airports, motorways and major roads, in protest at government increases in taxes on petrol and diesel. By Saturday lunchtime, police said around 244,000 people had turned out at 2,000 demonstrations across the country, but also in French overseas territories including Corsica. Fifty-two people were arrested, they said.

Police used teargas in clashes with protesters slowing vehicles entering the Mont Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy, and demonstrators completely blocked the Pontde Normandie across the Seine that links Le Havre to Honfleur. As night fell, dozens of police reinforcements were deployed in central Paris to prevent demonstrators reaching the Élysée Palace. The gilets jaunes had said it wanted to have a show of numbers, not of force, but the authorities feared the peaceful protest could degenerate.

The scale of the spontaneous popular revolt revealed an unexpected level of public discontent, with President Macron accused of being out of touch with the problems of ordinary people. Although sparked by higher fuel prices, the protests revealed a wider crisis of confidence in the centrist government. Ministers and officials insist the tax rises are a necessary measure to wean France from its dependence on fossil fuels. But at the Place de la République in central Paris, angry gilets jaunes dismissed the official line.

“We need reform, but not to the detriment of people’s pockets. We all bought diesel vehicles because we were told they were good, now they are punishing us because they say diesel is bad,” said Roger Ordonez, owner of a building company. “They are killing us off. We open our mouths they tax us, we shut them, they tax us. What is happening is totally unfair and we are totally fed up with this government.”

Cyrille Charton, an agrifood sales rep, added: “People from every social background are here because we are all affected. They expect us to pay 30% more for fuel, but if I tell my clients they will have to pay 30% more for products they’d think I was joking. We’ve had enough.”

Priscilla Ludosky, a business manager whose petition against the price rises attracted 879,000 signatures and is believed to have inspired the gilets jaunes movement, said she was surprised at how it had captured popular opinion. “Nobody thinks about people on the city fringes, in the provinces, the rural areas. They tell them to use alternative forms of transport, but in reality that’s not possible. They have no other choice but to pay up.” However, she admitted: “I didn’t imagine this would happen. I’ve never been part of an association or (political) party.” Ludosky said she had been approached by politicians of various colours wishing to demonstrate alongside her. “I never replied,” she said.

The French government has offered financial aid for motorists who want to exchange older vehicles for newer cleaner models, but critics say it is not enough. A survey by pollster Elabe for Le Figaro newspaper found 73% of people supported the gilets jaunes action and 70% wanted the government to abandon fuel tax rises.﻿