Champs-elysees closed to yellow vest forces

PARIS — France’s prime minister announced a ban Monday on yellow vest protests along the Champs-elysees Avenue in Paris and in two other cities following riots on Saturday that left luxury stores ransacked and charred from arson fires.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the ban will apply for an unspecified period in the neighborhoods that have been “the most impacted” in the cities of Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, where repeated destruction has occurred since the yellow vest protest movement began in November.

He also said Paris police chief Michel Delpuech will be replaced this week by prefect Didier Lallement.

Philippe also announced a shift in security strategy to allow police forces to have a greater initiative on the ground to take measures against rioters and disperse crowds. He said police will use new tools, including drones and video surveillance, to help preventing violence and send rioters to trial.

The surge in violence came as the four-month-old yellow vest movement has been dwindling. Images of the destruction on Saturday, including from a bank fire that engulfed a residential building and threatened the lives of a mother and child, could further erode public support.

But the renewed attention energized some protesters, who took to social networks to call for new protests this Saturday to demand lower taxes and more support for workers.