PARIS, France: A new wave of political instability has struck France as a nationwide “Block Everything” protest movement has taken to the streets just as Sébastien Lecornu was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister. The appointment of Lecornu, a staunch Macron loyalist, comes a day after the previous government, led by François Bayrou, collapsed due to a lost confidence vote over a deeply unpopular austerity budget.
The protests, which have resulted in over 200 arrests so far, saw demonstrators clashing with police, blocking roads, and setting fires in cities including Paris, Marseille, and Rennes. The government’s deployment of 80,000 police officers and gendarmes was aimed at preventing a total shutdown of the country, a stated goal of the grassroots protest movement.
The “Block Everything” movement, a decentralized campaign that gained steam on social media, has a broad set of demands, with the primary target being the government’s proposed measures to tackle France’s soaring national debt. The protesters argue that the rapid changes in leadership, with Lecornu being the fourth prime minister in just 12 months, underscore President Macron’s refusal to heed the public’s frustrations and change course on his economic policies. (ATP)
