“Mass ‘Bloquons Tout’ rally grips France, Demanding Macron’s resignation”

Coming on the heels of violent protests in Nepal, the “Bloquons Tout” movement—literally “Block Everything”—aimed to paralyze daily life and deliver a fierce warning to France’s new government.

By midday, protesters had erected makeshift barricades on major thoroughfares, set blazing dumpsters alight, and hurled projectiles at security forces. At least 200 arrests were made in the opening hours, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced, as an unprecedented 80,000 police officers were mobilized nationwide to contain the unrest. In Rennes, a charter bus was torched, while downed power lines in the southwest halted train services between Bordeaux and Toulouse, Retailleau said, accusing agitators of seeking to foster “a climate of insurrection.”

Though intense clashes erupted in Paris’s Latin Quarter and along the Boulevard Périphérique beltway where demonstrators repeatedly attempted to block the morning rush widespread disruption fell short of the movement’s ostensible goal to “Block Everything.” Traffic snarls and tear gas volleys nonetheless marked nearly every major city, from Marseille to Lille, as union leaders and grassroots activists called for strikes in ports, rail yards, and energy facilities.

The protest movement, which coalesced online over the summer through viral social media posts and encrypted messaging apps, carries forward many of the grievances that galvanized the Yellow Vest demonstrations of 2018–19. In addition to opposing deep budget cuts championed by former Prime Minister François Bayrou—who was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote Monday demonstrators decry rising inequality, soaring living costs, and waning public services.

France’s political establishment found itself under renewed pressure this week as Macron installed Sébastien Lecornu as Bayrou’s successor on Tuesday. Lecornu, a former defense minister, now faces the immediate test of quelling unrest and steering through a bruising parliamentary battle over next year’s budget.

Internationally, the protests in France come amid a ripple of dissent from South Asia to Europe. In Kathmandu, Nepal, anti-government demonstrations over economic hardship and allegations of political corruption have already claimed dozens of casualties, inspiring solidarity rallies among expatriate communities in Paris and beyond.

As night fell over the Champs-Élysées, fires smoldered and checkpoints remained manned, underscoring the potent mix of economic frustration and political defiance coursing through France. With Lecornu’s premiership barely a day old and Macron’s approval ratings sinking, Paris and much of the country braces for further turbulence in the weeks ahead.