Will ‘Bloquons tout’ protests continue in France?

New French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu avoided a crisis in his first day in the job yesterday, as the day’s ‘Bloquons tout’ protests failed to deliver on their promise to shut down the country on September 10.

Demonstrations were held across the country and several roads blocked. 

Action in major cities saw minor police clashes with protestors and some violence including vehicles burnt. 

More than 670 arrests were made amid 800,000 police employed - but the protests had mainly fizzled out by the end of the evening. 

Reports from the Interior Ministry claim 197,000 people took part in protests across the country, higher than the 100,000 it had initially anticipated by media outlets. 

By all accounts – including that of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau – the protests ‘failed’ in as much as they did not disrupt the flow of the country, although one Connexion reader reported being stuck in traffic for three hours in Foix (Ariège).

The decentralised nature of the demonstrations is cited as a key factor.

In many places, demonstrations amounted to just a few people at roundabouts and village centres and failed to cause significant impact to draw attention to the movement.

In addition, strike action was limited in all sectors, with unions more focused on a planned day of action on Thursday September 18.

Will there be more ‘Bloquons tout’ action? 

It is currently difficult to say whether there will be further action under the ‘Bloquons tout’ banner. 

The movement was mysterious in origin, being citizen-led and without a clear leader or group behind it. Several groups emerged sporadically, through apps such as Telegram and social media.

While this allowed for more local control of demonstrations, including in rural areas, it meant a lack of organisation at national level.

The lack of hierarchical support may also have contributed to the demonstrations fizzling out. 

The action was supported by some more radical unions, such as the CGT, and the far-left La France Insoumise party – leading to claims the movement had been hijacked by the ‘ultra-left’. However, these groups only joined in the protests and did not take over management of the day, leaving the original decentralised nature intact. 

This was in contrast to union-led strikes, where workers are urged to walk out at a specific date and time, and national demonstrations are focused in major cities to get as many people in one spot. 

In addition, unions usually call for protests on Tuesdays or Thursdays to maximise the number of participating workers, whereas Wednesdays can see workers, especially parents, struggle to join in.

If further protests are to be held, they will likely be communicated through the same channels – social media sites and applications such as Telegram – as opposed to being posted online. 

Though this will be picked up by the media, the lack of a clear leader to disseminate information may again make pinpointing the movement hard.

Did protests succeed?

The lack of hierarchy and professional organisation also makes it hard to know if the protests ‘succeeded.’ 

Unlike union strikes or party-led protests which have a clear goal – wage increases, changes to working conditions, overturning or introducing a law, etc – these protests did not have a single overarching theme other than to express opposition to the current state of living in France.

Listed goals for the ‘Bloquons tout’ movement shifted wildly between sets of demonstrators, based on local conditions and participants (whether students, farmers, retirees, etc), including a mixture of both left- and right-wing political beliefs.

One overarching theme was anger at the plans laid out in the 2026 budget of former Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was ousted on the eve of the strikes. 

If his replacement intends to keep the more controversial elements, such as a freeze on social welfare spending and the abolition of two public holidays in France – later protests are more likely, and may join with other movements to combat the budget.

This is not to say that citizen-led movements cannot have impact - the recent gilets jaunes protests being a prime example. These, however, were held on weekends to maximise the number of potential demonstrators.

Major strike on September 18 

Social action and disruption is however set to continue in September with France’s eight biggest unions uniting to call for a day of action on September 18. 

The rail network is set to see widespread disruption, as are airports due to a separate strike from a non-affiliated air traffic control union on the same date. 

Teachers, bus, tram, metro, and taxi drivers, civil servants, hospital staff, and private sector workers are all likely to join on the date. 

Unions themselves may call for further action, particularly if Mr Lecornu retains the budget of his predecessor.