French Patriots Under Attack

Following a surge of violence last weekend involving “Yellow Vest” protesting patriots, French President Emmanuel Macron made the decision to place armed soldiers strategically around the city. Ostensibly, it is for the protection of government buildings. This decision comes after the violence of last weekend caused “extensive destruction” along the Champs Elysees. Their assignment includes the presidential palace and the National Assembly.



The Police have banned protests

From France24: In a controverisal move, soldiers will be redeployed from their anti-terror “Operation Sentinelle” duties for this weekend’s protests to ensure the security of government buildings and other key sites. This will therefore allow the police to focus on public order. However, the soldiers will be armed with automatic weapons, raising concerns about how they will respond if the protests turn violent.



In a statement made on Friday, the Paris Prefect said, “There are serious reasons to believe that violence and damage are likely during the scheduled demonstrations.” Naturally, critics on both sides have grave concerns about the wisdom of deploying France’s Army to control protestors, fearing how they as military would react if things got ugly.



Protests Banned in Several Areas in France

Also from France24: “Maintaining order in France should be the police’s and the National Gendarmerie’s business. It is not the army’s job,” Guillaume Larrivé, MP for the centre-right Les Républicains party told Radio Classique. Larrivé criticised the government’s “improvised” response to the Yellow Vest crisis. He expressed concern the move would “end up weakening civil peace”.



The Police have banned protests in other areas of France as well. This includes Nice, where President Macron will meet with China’s President Xi Jinping. From DW: There will be similar bans in other major cities such as Marseille, Toulouse, and Nice. President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday. If there are rallies on Saturday, it would be the 19th weekend in a row they have taken place. Anyone defying the bans would face fines. Speaking on Thursday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner demanded a “zero tolerance” police approach towards violent protesters.



The focus is ostensibly on quelling riots while protecting the citizens right to demonstrate. Also from DW: Protests in other parts of Paris will be allowed to go ahead on Saturday: “The right to demonstrate, which is a fundamental freedom, will be allowed” but “any riotous groups will be immediately dispersed,” police declared.



Violence in Protests Have Increased

The “Yellow Vest” protests came about because of an increase in fuel taxes. Because of this, the protesters wear yellow vests. The vests are required to remain in your vehicle. DW reports that although the number of protesters is down, the level of violence has increased. Just this week, the Police Chief lost his position due to police inaction in the face of violence and damage the Yellow Vets allegedly caused.

Because of the riots last week, soldiers have been redeployed from the “Operation Sentinelle” anti-terror campaign they were assigned to. The thought is that it will assist the police in keeping order during protests, and quelling rioters. Once more, from DW: However, the soldiers will not be involved in public order operations, Defense Minister Florence Parly said it was “obviously out of the question” that the soldiers would come face-to-face with demonstrators she told Le Parisien.



Concerns of Police Firing on Citizens are Rampant

While the intention does not seem to be allowing soldiers free reign on protesters, questions still remain about how they would handle a situation in which their help is called upon. Fears they would open fire on citizens with the assault rifles they would be in possession of are rampant. According to NBC News, the police in Paris have formed specific quick response units in order to react faster to violent protesters.



President Macron dismissed concerns about the decision to employ the Army as unfounded. From NBC: President Emmanuel Macron on Friday dismissed criticism from opposition leaders regarding the involvement of the military. “Those trying to scare people, or to scare themselves, are wrong,” he said in Brussels.



However, Paris military governor General Bruno Le Ray did state that soldiers had the authority to fire on protesters if they feel their own lives are in danger. This according to DW. Several Left Wing MP’s spoke out against the decision to deploy troops in the city. From France24: The received similar criticism on the Left. “In what European democracy is the army called into police a social movement?” Raphaël Glucksmann, who will lead the Socialist Party at the EU elections, asked on Twitter. “This shows the extent of Macron’s failure to reconcile the French and to ease the tensions in our society,” Glucksmann added.

Dans quelle démocratie européenne l’armée fait-elle du maintien de l’ordre face à un mouvement social?

Une question qui permet de mesurer l’ampleur de l’échec d’un Président qui avait promis de réconcilier les Français et d’apaiser les tensions traversant notre société…#Fiasco — Raphael Glucksmann (@rglucks1) March 21, 2019 Archive.is

“It’s unheard of,” Benoît Hamon, Socialist Party candidate in the last presidential election, said Thursday. He added that “the government was releasing an arsenal of security and martial measures to mask the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner’s incompetence”.

