shaken by fiery demonstrations, roadblocks, and mass arrests despite massive police deployment
Paris
France’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faced an immediate test of leadership on Wednesday as protesters took to the streets in a wave of “Block Everything” demonstrations targeting President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
Nearly 200 people were arrested in the opening hours, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said, as thousands staged blockades, lit fires, and clashed with riot police in Paris and other cities. Protesters briefly set a bus ablaze in Rennes, while damage to a power line in the southwest disrupted train services.
Although the movement fell short of its stated goal of shutting down the country, it caused significant disruption. Police fired tear gas and swiftly dismantled barricades along Paris’ ring road, where demonstrators hurled objects and attempted to halt rush-hour traffic. Authorities deployed 80,000 officers nationwide in anticipation of unrest.
Retailleau accused organizers of fostering a “climate of insurrection.” The protests, though smaller than past yellow vest uprisings, underscored mounting public anger at Macron’s policies and came just a day after Lecornu was sworn in, following the collapse of François Bayrou’s short-lived government.
The “Bloquons Tout” movement emerged online over the summer, spreading virally through social media and encrypted channels. With no clear leadership, it has attracted a broad mix of grievances — from opposition to austerity measures to frustration over inequality.
The protests’ spontaneous, leaderless nature has drawn comparisons to the yellow vest movement that once shook Macron’s presidency and highlighted deep divides in French society.
