PARIS, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- "Yellow vest" protests in France over fuel prices and low living standards have spread to neighboring countries, causing disorder in Spain, Belgium and elsewhere.
In Belgium, several dozen protestors wearing yellow high-visibility vests were detained at a fuel depot near the border with France, while in Spain, road blocks caused traffic jams on the cross-border highway.
An EU statement said the situation was "obstructing the free circulation of goods between member states," estimating the cost at 2 million euros (2.27 million U.S. dollars).
For a week, "yellow vests" protestors have blocked highways across French cities with burning barricades and slow-moving trucks, obstructing the access to fuel depots, shopping centers and some factories.
Hundreds were injured in the violence, including protestors, police officers, gendarmes and firefighters, with some in critical conditions.
In his plan to accelerate the country's energy transition and encourage motorists to switch to clean cars, French President Emmanuel Macron introduced a higher tax on diesel, the most commonly used car fuel in France, igniting critics who accused him of being out of touch with ordinary people.
