France will toughen punishments for people who take part in undeclared protests, after months of unrest and riots against the government under the banner of the "gilets jaunes" movement.

The prime minister, Edouard Philippe, said the government would change the law to create stronger sanctions against the “thugs” who have brought disruption to Paris and other major cities.

He spoke after rioters torched motorbikes and set barricades ablaze on Paris’s upmarket Boulevard Saint-Germain on Saturday, underscoring how protests against high living costs and President Emmanuel Macron have turned violent on the fringes.

“We need to preserve the right to demonstrate in France and we must sanction those who break the law,” Mr Philippe told TF1 television.

“That’s why the government favours 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,” he added.

He said the government could model the new law on existing legislation against football hooligans whereby individuals can be banned from stadiums. It could be introduced as soon as February, he said.

Those who loot and vandalise shops during demonstrations could also be forced to pay for any damage they cause, Mr Philippe also said.

French prime minister Edouard Philippe speaking on television to announce the new sanctions (EPA)

The gilets jaunes – or yellow vests – protest movement began peacefully as opposition to a planned increase in fuel tax in November.

But as the high-visibility jacketed demonstrators grew in number violence and unrest began taking a more prominent role, particularly in Paris.

Yellow vest protests continue in France Show all 20 1 /20 Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow vest protests continue in France Protesters wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) stand next to a burning barricade as they demonstrate against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes at the A9 highway toll of Le Boulou, southern France AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow vest protestors hold a banner in front of the Noailles police station in Marseille, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP)GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images GERARD JULIEN AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Protestors wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) wave flares, French and Italian flags as they demonstrate on December 22, 2018, in Ventimiglia near the French-Italian border, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images VALERY HACHE AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Protestors wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) demonstrate against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes at the A9 highway toll of Le Boulou, southern France on December 22, 2018. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by RAYMOND ROIG / AFP)RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images RAYMOND ROIG AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Protestors wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) face French riot police as they demonstrate against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes at the A9 highway toll of Le Boulou, southern France on December 22, 2018. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by RAYMOND ROIG / AFP)RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images RAYMOND ROIG AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow vest protestors go down the Montmartre Hill in Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are announced in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow vest protestors walk in the 9th district of Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France French activist Jean-Baptiste Redde, aka Voltuan, (C) holds a sign reading "The king Macron gives crumbs to the derelicts" as he takes part in a "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) demonstration against rising costs of living they blame on high taxes at the A9 highway toll of Le Boulou, southern France, on December 22, 2018. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by RAYMOND ROIG / AFP)RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images RAYMOND ROIG AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow Vest protestors walk in the streets of Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Demonstrators block the highway near the French border with Spain, during a protest in Biriatou, southwestern France, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. The yellow vest protests, which have brought chaos to Paris over the past few weeks, clearly abated Saturday as the Christmas holiday season began in earnest. Outside Paris, around 200 roundabouts remained occupied across the country. In southern France near the Spanish border, dozens of demonstrators blocked trucks and chanted "Macron, Demission," which translates as "Macron, resign."(AP Photo/Bob Edme) Bob Edme AP Yellow vest protests continue in France Demonstrators block the highway near the French border with Spain, during a protest in Biriatou, southwestern France, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. The yellow vest protests, which have brought chaos to Paris over the past few weeks, clearly abated Saturday as the Christmas holiday season began in earnest. Outside Paris, around 200 roundabouts remained occupied across the country. In southern France near the Spanish border, dozens of demonstrators blocked trucks and chanted "Macron, Demission," which translates as "Macron, resign."(AP Photo/Bob Edme) Bob Edme AP Yellow vest protests continue in France Protestors wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) wave flares as they demonstrate on December 22, 2018, in Ventimiglia near the French-Italian border, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images VALERY HACHE AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France A Yellow Vest protestor holds a French flag near the Paris Opera, in Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP)FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images FRANCOIS GUILLOT AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France A Yellow Vest protestor sits on the statue of Jeanne D'Arc, at the Pyramides place in Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Yellow Vest protestors stand with banners near the Louvre in Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France Protester wearing yellow vest scuffles with a policeman during a demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement in central Paris, France, December 22, 2018. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann CHRISTIAN HARTMANN Reuters Yellow vest protests continue in France A woman dressed as a "Marianne", a national symbol of the French Republic, and yellow vest protestors walk near the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) on the Champs Elysees avenue on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are announced in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Zakaria ABDELKAFI / AFP)ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI/AFP/Getty Images ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France A Yellow Vest protestor faces anti-riot policemen in Paris, on December 22, 2018, as demonstrations are planned in several regions of France. - The "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel hikes but has morphed into a mass protest against President's policies and top-down style of governing. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP/Getty Images SAMEER AL-DOUMY AFP/Getty Yellow vest protests continue in France epa07244739 Protesters gather during a 'Yellow Vest' walk in the streets next to the Opera in Paris, France, 22 December 2018. The so-called 'gilets jaunes' (yellow vests) is a protest movement, which reportedly has no political affiliation, that continues protests across the nation over high fuel prices. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT ETIENNE LAURENT EPA

At the most recent gilets jaunes protest on Saturday, what had started as another peaceful march degenerated in the afternoon, as protesters threw missiles at riot police blocking bridges over the Seine.

Officers fired tear gas to prevent protesters crossing the river and reaching the National Assembly.

One riverboat restaurant was set ablaze and a policeman was wounded when he was hit by a bicycle hurled from a street above the river bank.

In December, Mr Macron announced a series of concessions, including a rise in the minimum wage and scrapping several tax hikes.

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However, the former banker – who has been dubbed “the president of the rich” by his critics – refused to reinstate a controversial wealth tax on all those with assets of more than £1.1m.

The gestures failed to placate the protest movement and now Mr Macron’s government has toughened its stance on the rioters and violent activists who have attached themselves to the gilets jaunes.