French authorities are bracing for a day of nationwide protests led by far-left activists next week, with intelligence officials warning the movement’s decentralised nature makes its scale and impact difficult to predict.
The broad anti-government campaign, dubbed “Bloquons tout” (“Let’s block everything”), has urged a shutdown of France on September 10 with a string of protest actions and civil disobedience around the country.
France’s leaders are also facing a political crisis, with a confidence vote in the National Assembly set for September 8 that could topple prime minister Francois Bayrou.
But even if he loses the vote, the discontent fuelling the September 10 campaign is not going away, an intelligence official told AFP, asking not to be named.
“It’s a horizontal movement with no leader — everyone does what they want,” the source told AFP, describing the anger as widespread with “meetings everywhere — in villages as well as big cities”.
There is no single issue, the source added, with frustration ranging from local and economic grievances to calls for President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation.
“It’s going in all directions,” the source said, though the campaign has changed since it was first launched on social media with the far left “taking control”.
Police across the country, particularly in Paris, are preparing as protesters float tactics including blocking train stations and picketing oil refineries to walking out of supermarkets without paying.
“The images will not be pretty,” a police official told AFP.
More protests, albeit of a more choreographed nature are set to follow on September 18, following a separate call for nationwide strikes by leading trade unions opposed to Bayrou’s proposed budget cuts.
After years of overspending, France is on notice to control its public deficit and cut its sprawling debt, as required under EU rules.
Bayrou, 74, wants to save about 44 billion euros ($51 billion), but his proposal to scrap two public holidays and place a freeze on spending increases has angered many in France.
Should Bayrou lose the September 8 vote, he must resign along with his entire government.
President Emmanuel Macron could reappoint him, or select a new figure who would be the head of state’s seventh premier since taking office in 2017, or call early elections to break that political deadlock that has now dogged France for over a year.
The country has a long history of mass protests, including the “yellow vest” movement for economic justice that erupted in 2018.
