Paris police chief replaced after weekend riots

PARIS: The French government said Monday it would replace the under-fire head of police in Paris following another weekend of riots that saw shops and restaurants torched and looted on the Champs-Elysees.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Michel Delpuech, 66, who has been in the job since April 2017, would be replaced on Wednesday by Didier Lallement, the top police official in the southwest region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Philippe announced several measures designed to prevent a repeat of the scenes on Saturday during protests by so-called "yellow vests" while responding to fierce criticism of police tactics and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner.

Philippe said demonstrations would be forbidden on the Champs-Elysees or other areas of the country if radical protesters, such as anarchists, were seen there.