French PM to Unveil Measures to Tackle Yellow Vests Violence

(Bloomberg) -- French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe plans to announce “public order” measures Monday in response to fresh violence against police and government buildings during an eighth consecutive Saturday of Yellow Vests protests.

“Faced with continued unacceptable violence across the country, the government plans to take a very firm stance and adjust its public order plan,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement, cited by news agency Agence France-Presse. Philippe plans to unveil the measures on France’s TF1 television at 8 p.m. Paris time.

Police arrested 345 people during protests in cities across France on Saturday, as the number of Yellow Vests swelled to an estimated 50,000 following a dip during the Christmas holiday period, according to AFP. French TV showed images of burnt vehicles and police officers coming under attack, while one group of people used a forklift to smash in the entrance to the ministry of government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux.

Griveaux on Monday slammed opposition parties for failing to condemn the actions of protesters, accusing political leaders during an interview on France Inter radio of “moral and intellectual capitulation.”

“People who insult, attack, vandalize, pillage, burn, steal have no place in the republic, they must be identified, prosecuted and heavily sentenced,” Griveaux said.

Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a separate interview on RTL radio that the government needed to show “ultra-severity” in “the face of ultra-violence.”

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