French police arrest nearly 200 as ‘Block Everything’ protests erupt against Macron govt

PARIS: French police arrested nearly 200 people on Wednesday in the early stages of the “Block Everything” protests, organised by a loose left-wing coalition amid grassroots anger at President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and austerity measures, France 24 reported.

The unrest coincided with the swearing-in of Sebastien Lecornu as France’s new prime minister, the country’s fifth in less than two years.

An official handover is set to take place in Paris this afternoon between outgoing prime minister Francois Bayrou, who was ousted after losing a confidence vote, and his replacement, Lecornu, a close Macron ally and former defence minister.

Reporting from Matignon, the prime minister’s residence and office, France 24 reported that Lecornu faces a daunting challenge, pointing out that he has “an uphill task getting a budget passed in a divided National Assembly.”

According to police, “a thousand determined individuals” carried out an “attempted intrusion” at Gare du Nord station, which was thwarted.

Demonstrations and attempted blockades were also reported outside Parisian secondary schools and in cities including Rennes and Montpellier. Around a hundred young people, some wearing hoods, gathered outside Lavoisier school, holding placards that read, “We are blocking because we care about our mental health” and “To fill their coffers, Bayrou is picking our pockets.”

Some medical staff were on strike, protesting against budget cuts and worsening working conditions, France 24 reported.

Police fired tear gas in several cities as demonstrators blocked roads, while French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed that nearly 200 arrests had been made. Authorities deployed 80,000 police nationwide to maintain order.

Protesters in Lyon blocked a highway and set bins on fire, while police in Nantes used tear gas to disperse crowds. In the suburbs of Paris, masked groups built barricades with dumpsters and threw rubbish at officers. “French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to name Sebastien Lecornu, a close ally, as prime minister ‘is a slap in the face’,” said Florent, a protester in Lyon. “We are tired of his successive governments; we need change,” he added.

The traffic on the Peripherique ring road around the capital was “virtually unaffected” by the “Block Everything” call, as per France 24.

Meanwhile, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure urged Lecornu to renounce the use of Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows bills to pass without a parliamentary vote, calling it a chance to show “a change in approach” from past governments. “There was no scenario in which the Socialist Party would participate in the new government,” he told France Info, while adding he was not refusing talks but would not give Lecornu “a blank cheque.”

The unrest also spread to rail transport, with state-owned SNCF reporting disruptions on TER regional and Intercites services due to “two malicious acts” overnight. Damage to cables between Marmande and Agen in the Lot-et-Garonne region disrupted services between Bordeaux and Toulouse, while another incident near Toulouse also interrupted traffic. High-speed TGV trains remained unaffected.

Lecornu, 39, enters office with the urgent task of forging a consensus on a new national budget after Bayrou’s failed austerity drive. Macron named him prime minister late Tuesday, hours after Bayrou’s resignation, in what protesters have called a “baptism of fire” amid the mass demonstrations. (ANI)