On Wednesday, protesters across France disrupted traffic, set fire to garbage cans, and clashed with police in an attempt to "Block Everything" in protest against President Emmanuel Macron's policies, the political establishment, and planned budget cuts. Law enforcement detained almost 300 rioters, UNN reports with reference to Reuters and France24.
Details
Tens of thousands of security forces deployed across the country quickly cleared barricades, government officials said. This means that France was not blocked for now, despite some clashes. 295 protesters were arrested across the country.
Many demonstrators expressed their anger against Macron, who is already facing political turmoil after the parliamentary opposition united to remove his loyal government on Monday. The president appointed his close ally, conservative Sébastien Lecornu, as his new prime minister, who took office on Wednesday, facing the same challenge of curbing France's growing debt as his predecessor.
It's the same garbage, the same, the problem is Macron, not the ministers. He has to go
In Paris, police used tear gas against young people blocking the entrance to a high school, and firefighters removed burnt items from a barricade.
Police said they managed to stop a large group of about 1,000 protesters who were preventing citizens from entering the Gare du Nord train station in the city.
I expected either a dissolution of parliament or a left-wing prime minister, but we have neither, which is disappointing
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters that protesters set fire to a bus in the western city of Rennes. He also said that some protesters attacked law enforcement officers using heavy paving stones, but did not specify where.
Retailleau warned that protest rallies planned for later in the day could be infiltrated by hardline far-left groups, which could lead to violence.
For reference
The "Block Everything" movement is a broad expression of discontent that has no centralized leadership and is organized simultaneously on social media. It emerged online in May among right-wing groups, researchers and officials said, but has since been taken over by the left and far-left.
This movement reflects popular discontent with what protesters see as a dysfunctional ruling elite that preaches austerity. It is compared to the "yellow vests" protests of 2018, which arose from rising fuel prices but turned into a broader movement against Macron and his economic reform plans.
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