French authorities are deploying 80,000 police and gendarmes backed by helicopters, drones, and armored vehicles on Wednesday to keep order during a planned action by tens of thousands of “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything) protesters who are heeding online calls to disrupt the country after the government collapsed Monday.
Officials says the police response will be “absolutely massive” in the face of possible acts of sabotage and other violence, as well as delays and other disruptions by protesters, including to trains and possibly planes.
The Block Everything movement gathered steam on social media and in encrypted chats over the summer but has reached a boiling point this week amid France’s latest political crisis triggered by the government’s collapse after a non-confidence vote by parliament and subsequent resignation of prime minister François Bayrou on Monday.
It’s called-for day of blockades, strikes, demonstrations and other acts of protest comes as President Emmanuel Macron – one of the movement’s targets – is installing a fourth prime minister in 12 months: Sébastien Lecornu, the outgoing defense minister, who was named as Macron’s latest new prime minister on Tuesday evening.
‘Massive’ police deployment
The Block Everything movement, which has grown virally with no clear identified leadership, has a broad array of demands – many targeting contested belt-tightening budget plans that Bayrou championed before his demise – as well as broader complaints about inequality.
Calls online for strikes, boycotts, blockades and other forms of protest on Wednesday have been accompanied with appeals to avoid violence.
But French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that as well as peaceful protests, “there are other actions that could be far more intense – blockages, possible acts of sabotage, acts that could be far more violent.”
Potential targets could include oil refineries, fuel stocks, train stations, and ring roads, he said. He warned of “small groups that aren’t very numerous, but which are very determined, very organized, very, very seasoned and are looking for violence.”
Paris transport authorities said Metro, train and bus services were expected to run largely as normal, with only moderate disruptions on some lines. Aviation authorities warned of possible disruptions and delays to flights.
The spontaneity of “Block Everything” is reminiscent of the “Yellow Vest” movement that rocked Macron’s first term as president. It started with workers camping out at traffic circles to protest a hike in fuel taxes, sporting high-visibility vests. It quickly spread to people across political, regional, social and generational divides angry at economic injustice and Macron’s leadership.
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