NANTES/PARIS: Protesters across France have staged disruptive demonstrations this week, blocking highways, burning barricades, and clashing with police in anger at President Emmanuel Macron, his government, and looming austerity measures.

The unrest unfolded as conservative Sébastien Lecornu was sworn in as Macron's new prime minister, following the ouster of his predecessor in a parliamentary confidence vote.

Authorities deployed more than 80,000 security personnel nationwide to contain the movement, dubbed "Block Everything." Riot police in Paris fired teargas to disperse crowds, while water cannons were used in other cities. Nearly 200 people were detained in the capital, and more than 300 arrests were reported nationwide.

Outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau estimated participation at close to 200,000 people, describing the mobilization as "significant," though he insisted that efforts to paralyze the country had failed.

The movement began on social media in May, initially championed by right-wing groups before spreading to left-wing and far-left circles. It has since become a broader outlet for frustration with what many see as an out-of-touch political elite intent on austerity.

France faces a budget deficit nearly double the EU's three percent limit and a debt burden amounting to 114 percent of GDP. The government's proposed 44 billion euros (US$52 billion) in spending cuts have intensified the backlash.

On the streets, anger was palpable. "It's Macron who's the problem, not the ministers. He has to go," said Fred, a union official with the CGT at Paris's public transport company. Outside the Gare du Nord station, young protesters chanted anti-Macron slogans and waved placards denouncing "the rich elite's Republic."

Seventeen-year-old student Emma Meguerditchian declared, "We want them to know we can't take this anymore. We want another type of government."

Scenes of unrest played out in multiple cities. In Nantes, demonstrators blocked a highway with burning tires before police dispersed them with teargas. In Rennes, a bus was torched. In Montpellier, protesters erected barricades at a roundabout under a banner demanding Macron's resignation.

In Paris, high school students joined the protests, leading to confrontations outside school gates and scuffles near the Châtelet shopping mall, where firefighters battled blazes set by demonstrators.

The "Block Everything" campaign has drawn comparisons to the Yellow Vest protests of 2018–2019, which forced Macron into costly concessions on taxes and social spending. But experts say this wave looks different.

Sociologist Antoine Bristielle of the Jean Jaurès Foundation noted that while older, economically vulnerable citizens primarily drove the Yellow Vest rebellion, today's protests are fueled by younger generations demanding social justice and political renewal.

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