Protests and acts of civil disobedience took place across France on Wednesday as Sébastien Lecornu was sworn in as prime minister, with clashes between demonstrators and police, hundreds of arrests and localized damage reported.
Demonstrators blocked streets, set bins alight and disrupted access to infrastructure and schools in a day of action called by the grassroots movement Bloquons Tout ("Let's Block Everything"). Around 250 people had been arrested by mid-morning, outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said, and several hundred protesters gathered in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux and Montpellier. In Paris, about 1,000 people — many masked or wearing balaclavas — clashed with police outside Gare du Nord; some attempted to enter the station and were pushed back with tear gas, according to French media.
Authorities reported several incidents beyond the capital: a bus was torched in Rennes and electric cables near Toulouse were sabotaged, Retailleau said. Despite these episodes, the overall disruption was described as fairly small-scale, with most arrests concentrated in and around Paris.
The movement behind the demonstrations emerged on social media earlier this year and gained momentum over the summer in opposition to proposed budget cuts. Bloquons Tout has a distinct left-wing character and has campaigned against a planned €44 billion reduction in public spending. Its stated demands include increased investment in public services, higher taxes on top earners, rent freezes and the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron. Some protesters also carried placards denouncing the war in Gaza.
Outside Gare du Nord a group of young protesters told the BBC they were demonstrating in solidarity with people in precarious situations and against what they described as the government's handling of France's spiralling debt. "We are here because we are very tired of how Macron has been handling the situation," one, identified as Alex, 25, said, adding he did not expect the new prime minister to "repeat the cycle."
Lecornu, a close ally of President Macron, was sworn in after the no-confidence vote that forced the resignation of his predecessor, François Bayrou, earlier this week. He is France's fifth prime minister in under two years. In a brief speech at the handover, Lecornu thanked Bayrou and said: "We'll get there." He called for "sobriety and humility" in response to the country's political instability and said he would begin talks immediately with political parties and trade unions.
Lecornu faces the immediate challenge of securing a budget acceptable to a deeply divided National Assembly. France's deficit reached 5.8% of gross domestic product in 2024, and lawmakers remain split on how to address the shortfall. The far-left party France Unbowed has said it will table a no-confidence motion against Lecornu as soon as possible, though such a motion would need support from other parties to succeed. The far-right National Rally said it would listen to Lecornu's proposals "without many illusions."
Political commentators and party leaders have warned that building consensus on austerity measures will be difficult in a hung parliament where three distinct ideological blocs disagree on fiscal priorities. Lecornu's immediate pledge to engage with parties and unions is likely to be the first test of whether his appointment can provide a path to a majority that will accept a new budget.
As demonstrations continued in several cities, French authorities said they would monitor further acts of civil disobedience. Organisers of Bloquons Tout had urged participants to carry out disruptive but non-lethal actions against what they described as austerity and contempt, a call that translated into a mix of peaceful gatherings and isolated violent incidents on Wednesday.