France to crack down on unauthorized 'yellow vest' protests – PM
PARIS (AFP) – French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Monday announced plans to ban participation in unauthorized demonstrations as the government scrambles to try to end weeks of violent "yellow vest" protests.
Seven weeks into rebellion marked by weekly clashes in Paris and other French cities, Philippe said the government would introduce a "new law punishing those who do not respect the requirement to declare (protests), those who take part in unauthorized demonstrations and those who arrive at demonstrations wearing face masks."
He also announced plans to ban known "troublemakers" from taking part in demonstrations, in the same way known football hooligans have been banned from stadiums in the past.
In future, Philippe said, the onus would be on "the troublemakers, and not taxpayers, to pay for the damage caused" to businesses and property during the protests which began peacefully in mid-November over taxes but quickly became more radical.
Many of the "yellow vest" demonstrators are demanding that centrist President Emmanuel Macron resign, a demand dismissed as undemocratic by the government.
On Saturday, a group of protesters used a construction vehicle to smash open the doors of the building housing the ministry of government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux.
In other scenes that caused shock a former professional boxer was caught on camera beating up police officers.
"Those who question our institutions will not have the last word," Philippe said, announcing plans to deploy 80,000 security force members nationwide for the next round of demonstrations.
The images of renewed violence and destruction in Paris on Saturday underscored the difficulty of containing a leaderless movement that appeared to be petering out at the end of 2018 but has since gained new momentum.
Around 50,000 "yellow vest" protesters took to the streets again on Saturday to denounce Macron's policies, call for his resignation or demand more of a say in national law-making.