The Latest: France bans some yellow vest protests in Paris
France's prime minister has announced a ban on yellow vest protests on Paris' Champs-Elysees avenue and in two other French cities following riots on Saturday that left luxury stores ransacked and charred from arson fires
French President Emmanuel Macron flanked by Elysee general secretary Alexis Kohler, left, holds a meeting at the Elysee presidential Palace, in Paris, Monday, March 18, 2019. Macron summoned top security officials Monday after police failed to contain resurgent rioting during yellow vest protests that transformed a luxurious Paris avenue into a battle scene. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
PARIS (AP) -- The Latest on yellow vest protests in France (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
France's prime minister has announced a ban on yellow vest protests on Paris' Champs-Elysees avenue and in two other French cities following riots on Saturday that left luxury stores ransacked and charred from arson fires.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the ban would 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.
Philippe announced new security measures Monday following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and top security officials aimed at avoiding a repeat of Saturday's violence, in which rioters set life-threatening fires, ransacked luxury stores and attacked police around the Champs-Elysees.
He also said Paris police chief Michel Delpuech will be replaced this week by prefect Didier Lallement.
___
8:40 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron summoned top security officials Monday after police failed to contain resurgent rioting during yellow vest protests that transformed a luxurious Paris avenue into a battle scene.
The prime minister promised to announce new measures later Monday to avoid a repeat of Saturday's violence, in which rioters set life-threatening fires, ransacked luxury stores and attacked police around the Champs-Elysees.
The new surge in violence came as the 4-month-old yellow vest movement demanding economic justice has been dwindling. Images of the destruction — including from a bank fire that engulfed a residential building and threatened the lives of a mother and child — could further erode public support.
High-end boutiques along the Champs-Elysees remained closed and boarded up Monday, some of them ransacked and charred from arson fires set by rioters.
