France to Clamp Down on Unsanctioned Protests Amid ‘Yellow Vest’ Unrest
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced plans to punish people who hold unauthorized protests after weeks of anti-government unrest, including acts of violence.
Philippe made the comments on TF1 television after rioters in Paris’s upmarket Boulevard Saint-Germain torched motorbikes and set barricades ablaze on Jan. 5.
His government wants to draft new legislation similar to that used to combat football hooligans. The new law would ban troublemakers—which Philippe called “casseurs,” or thugs—from protests and crack down on people at demonstrations who conceal their faces with masks.
“We need to preserve the right to demonstrate in France and we must sanction those who break the law,” Philippe told TF1 television.
“That’s why the government favors updating the law in order to sanction those who do not respect this obligation to declare protests, those who take part in undeclared protests, those who arrive at protests with balaclavas,” Philippe said.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/france-to-clamp-down-on-unsanctioned-protests-amid-yellow-vest-unrest_2760095.html