Yellow Vests Violence – French government fires Paris Police commissioner
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The French government on Monday sacked the Paris police chief and vowed to crack down harder on Yellow Jackets protesters after a resurgence of violence in weekend demonstrations.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Michel Delpuech, 66, who has been in the job since April 2017, would be replaced on Wednesday by Didier Lallement, the top police official in the southwest region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Philippe also said protests would be banned from the areas that have seen the most violence, such as the Champs-Élysées, and acknowledged deep failings in the way law enforcement leaders handled the violence.
Business owners on the iconic Champs-Elysees were fuming Monday as President Emmanuel Macron met with Philippe, Castaner and other top officials to weigh their response to an 18th consecutive Saturday of demonstrations.
Some 5,000 police were deployed in the capital on Saturday, far outnumbering the several hundred black-clad rioters who caused havoc for more than seven hours on the capital’s most famous boulevard.
TV footage often showed officers standing in formation while the protesters burned and pillaged dozens of stores.
