The protest movement began more than six months ago as a peaceful backlash against rising fuel and living costs, but quickly spiralled into a sometimes violent anti-Macron rebellion.
In an interview with the conservative weekly Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), the security chief confirmed that a total of 11 deaths had been linked to the anti-government protests, adding that most had been the result of road accidents caused by roadblocks.
Mr Castaner said that 2,500 yellow vests had been injured since the protest movement began in November last year, including 76 seriously.
Some 1,800 members of the security forces also sustained injuries, he added.
He also said that 50,000 protests had been held since the start of the movement.
The yellow vest protests, so-called because of the fluorescent safety jackets all French drivers have to keep in their cars, began late last year over spiralling fuel and living costs.
But the movement tapped into much deeper frustrations among the struggling working class, and quickly morphed into a wider rebellion against President Emmanuel Macron’s elitist government and pro-business economic policies.
On some occasions, mostly in Paris, the weekly protests have sparked violent clashes between yellow vests and riot police, with both sides accusing the other of abuses.
There has been huge controversy over the rough tactics used by police to restore calm during the protests, namely the use of non-lethal rubber bullets and sting-ball grenades.
Yellow vests say the use of such devices has put demonstrators in