The French government will adopt tougher measures to prevent renewed yellow vest, said Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on Monday.
Thousands of yellow vest protesters gathered in Paris early Saturday morning for the 18th straight weekend of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron.
"They are not demonstrators but masked rioters who want to rob, destroy, and set fires, injuring or even killing people. The government will respond to these crimes with tough measures. We will ban yellow vest protests in the most vulnerable areas whenever we recognize any extremists," said PM Philippe.
The government warned participants in banned demonstrations of harsher penalties and announced increased compensation for shops destroyed and robbed during the demonstrations.