#Block Everything Protests# Block Everything# France# Paris Protest
IBNS-CMEDIA: French Police arrested nearly 200 people with ‘Block Everything’ protesters attempting to paralyse the country following the collapse of former PM François Bayrou-led government.
Authorities deployed around 8,000 police officers and gendarmes when the demonstrators attempted to build barricades and tried to block Paris’ ring road, a major region in the country.
At Porte de Montreuil in eastern Paris, protesters set rubbish bins ablaze and attempted to obstruct tram tracks before police dismantled the obstacles and dispersed crowds, reported Euro News.
Police stopped the demonstrators when they attempted to burst onto the highway to block traffic.
Hundreds of people had assembled around Paris’ Gare du Nord, one of Europe’s busiest train stations, to chant “step down, Macron” slogans around 10.30 am.
Speaking of their protest, a student named Marie told Euronews: “I am protesting today because we are sick of it all.”
“Today we are here to show Macron that we’re done with all of this. He can’t just keep ignoring us and what the people want,” Marie said.
The ‘Block Everything’ movement gained momentum over anger about inflation, austerity measures and what supporters call a dysfunctional political class.
The protest slowly gained momentum in the country since summer, but mostly drew attention online.
