French authorities arrested hundreds of people Wednesday as a coordinated "Bloquons Tout" — or "Block Everything" — campaign brought traffic to a standstill, sparked fires and produced violent clashes with police across the country.
The interior ministry said 295 people were detained in the first hours of the nationwide action. Paris police reported 183 arrests by mid-afternoon, and more than 100 others were taken into custody elsewhere, an interior ministry count showed. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said protesters set a bus on fire in Rennes.
The protests, called via social media and encrypted messaging over the summer, targeted planned public spending cuts, President Emmanuel Macron and the broader political direction in Paris. Demonstrators sought to block roads, stage strikes and shut down transportation hubs in cities from Marseille in the south to Lille and Caen in the north.
In Paris, groups repeatedly tried to block the city's ring road during the morning rush hour and were dispersed with tear gas. Elsewhere in the capital, protesters piled up trash cans and hurled objects at police, and firefighters were called to the Châtelet neighborhood after a restaurant fire threatened nearby buildings. Authorities deployed about 80,000 police nationwide to handle the demonstrations.
The action came days after a major shake-up in Paris politics: Prime Minister François Bayrou was ousted in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday and replaced by Sébastien Lecornu. Bayrou had been preparing a plan to cut roughly $51 billion in public spending to rein in a growing deficit and rising national debt. By the end of the first quarter of 2025, France's public debt stood at about 114% of gross domestic product, according to multiple reports.
"One prime minister has just been ousted and straight away we get another from the right," said student Baptiste Sagot, 21. "They're trying to make working people, young students, retirees, all people in difficulty, bear all the effort instead of taxing wealth."
Protests were widespread: demonstrators staged blockades, traffic slowdowns and sit-ins in cities including Nantes, Rennes, Grenoble and Lyon. In Rennes, authorities said a bus was torched. Police used water cannon and tear gas in several locations to disperse crowds.
Organizers of the "Block Everything" movement had called for a day of strikes, boycotts and disruptive tactics to oppose austerity measures and proposed cuts that would affect public services and social spending. The demonstrations reflected growing public anger over economic pressures and repeated changes at the head of France's government over the past year.
Authorities have not released a final tally of injuries. The interior ministry said police acted where protests turned violent or threatened public safety. Local officials and emergency services responded to fires and incidents of property damage reported in several cities.
President Macron, who appointed Bayrou in December after a string of resignations, has faced recurring unrest and criticism over fiscal policy and governance. The new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, takes office amid the protests and the immediate political and economic challenges they underscore.
French and international media outlets, as well as statements from the interior ministry and local authorities, reported on the day's events. The demonstrations are likely to influence parliamentary debate over budget proposals and could shape public response to further austerity measures in the weeks ahead.