Can you apply different permissions to Files in root not just to Subfolders?

I'd like to allow users to delete files in the root folder but not to delete Subfolders in the root. 

I can see how to add subfolders to the root and apply seperate permissions to that subfolder. But those permissions are applied to the contents of the subfolder, not the subfolder itself. 

Basically I want to set it up so users can delete any file in any folder at any level under root but not to be able to delete any folder at any level under root.

Am I making any sense?

Sorry, this is not possible with current permissions system. I recommend you to always start with restrictive permissions on the root level.

You may also consider using dynamic root folders:
Different root folder for each user