Widespread protests broke out across France on Wednesday as Sébastien Lecornu began his first day as the country’s new Prime Minister. Lecornu, who is the seventh person to hold the position during President Emmanuel Macron’s two terms, faces immediate challenges in forming a minority government and addressing France’s growing debt.
Demonstrators disrupted traffic, set fire to rubbish bins, and clashed with police in Paris and other major cities. Protesters are calling for President Macron’s resignation and for general elections. The movement, known as “Block Everything,” began online among right-wing groups but has since drawn support from left-wing and far-left factions. The group aims to paralyze the economy and force political change.
According to Reuters, “Protesters across France disrupted traffic, burnt rubbish bins and at times clashed with police on Wednesday in a bid to ‘Block Everything’ in a show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron, the political establishment and planned budget cuts.
Tens of thousands of security forces who had been deployed across the country removed blockades as fast as possible, officials said, meaning that France was, for now, not blocked despite some scuffles.”
Authorities arrested 300 protesters nationwide. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau reported that some demonstrators attacked police with heavy cobblestones and that hardline leftists have infiltrated the protests.
The unrest comes days after parliamentary opposition defeated Macron’s government on Monday. In response to calls for demonstrations at key infrastructure points such as highways, train stations, airports, and refineries, officials deployed about 80,000 police officers across France—including 6,000 in Paris—to remove blockades quickly.
Politico noted: “Authorities are bracing for demonstrations and blockades on highways and at train stations, airports and refineries as part of an online movement called ‘Block Everything.’ Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez said an ‘exceptional’ deployment of close to 80,000 security forces across the country is planned for Wednesday, and that authorities will ‘intervene systematically’ to remove any blockades.
[…] The scale of the unrest will be a major challenge for Lecornu, one of Macron’s closest allies since he came to power, and the former armed forces minister will see his authority and popularity tested on his first day on the job. A discreet political operator, Lecornu has earned plaudits for shepherding France’s rearmament in the wake of the war in Ukraine, but will be thrust into the limelight like never before.”
Firefighters responded to fires at businesses targeted by protesters expressing hostility toward France’s political leadership.
