French police are confronting a man threatening to blow up a grenade near a petrol station in the town of Angers in western France, the interior minister told reporters. The man is demanding to see the president.
The minister, Christophe Castaner, said the man is wearing a fluorescent yellow vest similar to those worn by activists who have been protesting across the country against a fuel price hike over the past week.
The man is claiming to have more explosives than just the grenade and says he wants to speak with President Emmanuel Macron. As the stand-off continues, law enforcement officers are working to evacuate people from the vicinity of the scene, Castaner said.
The TV channel BFM said the man has a criminal record related to narcotics. BFM also cited an owner of a restaurant located near the scene of confrontation, who said there were eight vans of France’s CRS riot police deployed nearby.
Fuel protests have been gripping France for almost a week, as motorists wearing yellow safety jackets are blocking highways with barricades and convoys of vehicles.
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