Chaos descended on France overnight as protesters, demanding the resignation of French president Emmanuel Macron, clashed with police
Early on Wednesday there were clashes in Paris where garbage bins were set on fire and police launched gas canisters into masked crowds.
The city is bracing for worse as tens of thousands prepare to paralyze France over the 2026 budget’s punishing austerity measure.
The nationwide “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything) strikes on September 10 is planning roadblocks, sit-ins, and strikes across transport, schools, and hospitals.
Tens of thousands of people have already taken to the streets of Paris, Marseille, and other cities in response to the online’ campaign.
The strikes have reportedly been exacerbated by a wave of anti-Muslim acts. Nine pig heads were left outside mosques, some scrawled with “Macron” in blue ink.
The Express reports: The French government deployed an exceptional 80,000 police in response to a day of nationwide action under the slogan “Block Everything.” The demonstrators, angry at French President Emmanuel Macron over his leadership and austerity policies, are planning to disrupt activity across the country.
The Paris police prefecture said 75 people had already been detained by 9am, with demonstrations and blockades expected to continue throughout the day.
Across the country, an estimated 200 people had been detained by 10am BST. In Rennes, on the outskirts of the capital, a bus was set on fire, with dramatic footage circulated on social media.
Two days after François Bayrou was ousted as prime minister in a parliamentary confidence vote and replaced on Tuesday by Sébastien Lecornu, thousands of protesters responded to online calls to disrupt the country.
One, posting on X, warned: “Emmanuel Macron, if he keeps mocking the French people, he end up like Kennedy or Louis XVI.”