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The Paris police chief must be replaced at the end of a weekend of riots in which shops and restaurants were burned and looted on the Champs-Elysees.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said that Michel Delpuech, 66 years old and in office since April 2017, would be replaced on Wednesday by Didier Lallement, senior police chief in southwestern New Aquitaine.
Philippe announced several measures to prevent the repetition of scenes Saturday during demonstrations of so-called "yellow vests" while responding to fierce criticism of police tactics and the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner.
"The events of last Saturday, especially on the Champs-Elysees, were unacceptable and the president asked the government to give an answer to the height of the situation," said Philippe in a televised statement.
Philippe said demonstrations would be banned on the Champs-Elysees or in other parts of the country if radical protesters, such as anarchists, were observed there.
Philippe announced several measures to prevent the repetition of scenes Saturday during demonstrations of so-called "yellow vests" while responding to fierce criticism of police tactics and the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner.
Philippe said demonstrations would be banned on the Champs-Elysees or in other parts of the country if radical protesters, such as anarchists, were observed there.
He also said that the police would oppose more people attending unauthorized demonstrations, the fines being "substantially" increased.
The business leaders of the iconic Champs-Elysees were furious on Monday when President Emmanuel Macron met Philippe, Castaner and other senior officials to take stock of their response to an 18th consecutive Saturday of protests.
Some 5,000 police officers were deployed Saturday in the capital, far exceeding the several hundred rioters in black who caused havoc for more than seven hours on the capital's most famous boulevard.
Television footage often showed officers in training as protesters burned and looted dozens of stores.
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