‘A Fatal Decision’ – Macron Deploys Armed Soldiers for Yellow Vest Protests
by Chris Tomlinson
French soldiers are set to be deployed for the first time during a Yellow Vest protest this weekend. Some reports indicate they are being told to avoid protesters, while others indicate they have been given permission to open fire.
The soldiers have reportedly been redeployed from anti-terror Operation Sentinel duties, and are expected to be placed to government buildings and other sensitive areas rather than engaged in regular law enforcement duties, but communication about their exact role has been poor, according to Le Point.
The military deployment, which follows renewed violence last Saturday and the Emmanuel Macron government’s decision to ban protesters from the Champs-Elysees and other French city centres this Saturday, has been slammed by many, including Les Republicans senator Bruno Retailleau, who labelled it a “fatal decision.”
“It’s a turning point, it’s mostly a failure! I do not know if we used the army in ’68, I do not remember, but using the army, including in static form to protect buildings, is extremely dangerous,” he said.
“The military is not trained in policing. They are trained in combat, to kill and neutralize. This decision is absolutely deplorable.”
“In what European democracy is the army called in to police a social movement?” added Raphaël Glucksmann, who will lead France’s Socialist Party, for which President Macron was a government minister under predecessor François Hollande, in the upcoming European Parliament elections.
Yellow Vest Claims Movement Has ‘Paramilitaries’ Ready to Overthrow Macron https://t.co/QyTH1AQm37
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 16, 2019
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com
full story at https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/03/23/a-fatal-decision-macron-deploys-armed-soldiers-for-yellow-vest-protests/