Lecornu, a conservative Macron protege who most recently served as his defence minister, arrived at the prime minister\u2019s residence at midday where he met former prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou, who was ousted by parliament on Monday over plans to trim the country\u2019s outsized deficit.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s new prime minister promised a \u201cprofound break\u201d with the past on Wednesday as he faced the thorny task of trying to build a government with enough parliamentary support to avoid an early demise. Lecornu said he would address the nation \u201cin the coming days\u201d to explain his approach, which would be different from the past, and \u201cnot just in method\u201d.<\/p>\n
The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has already announced a no-confidence motion against Lecornu in parliament, for now with no backing from other parties.<\/p>\n
Street protests have been taking place across France in a show of grassroots opposition to President Emmanuel Macron, which have resulted in clashes with police and near 300 arrests, as well as some disruption to transport, schools and other services.<\/p>\n
Earlier Wednesday, France deployed 80,000 police nationwide to face demonstrators. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned demonstrators that there would be \u201czero tolerance\u201d for violence.<\/p>\n
Despite a call by a loose left-wing coalition of organisers to \u201cblock everything\u201d, that target was only partly achieved. Most high-speed trains ran on schedule, and disruption to the Paris metro was minimal, operators reported. But many schools were blocked, and protesters occupied roads and railway stations across the country.<\/p>\n
Protesters in and around Paris built barricades from rubbish bins, blocked schools and roads and pelted police with garbage early in the day. Paris police also reported that about 1,000 protesters tried to gain entry to the Gare du Nord but were prevented from doing so.<\/p>\n
In the south-eastern city of Lyon, protesters blocked a road running through the city and set bins on fire, while in the western city of Nantes police used teargas to disperse protesters. In the southern port city of Marseille, police stopped 200 demonstrators from blockading a main road.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Telegram founder Pavel Durov has expressed pride that protesters in France<\/a> used the platform to organise rallies against president Macron.<\/p>\n He wrote on X<\/a>:<\/p>\n Proud that Telegram is a tool for protests in France against Macron\u2019s failed policies. After 8 years of neglect, people are done with empty PR and posturing – and they\u2019re striking back.<\/p>\n The Russian-born entrepreneur was detained in Paris in 2024<\/a> and is now under formal investigation by French authorities over Telegram\u2019s alleged involvement in facilitating criminal activity.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A central Paris restaurant appeared to be set on fire during the \u2018Block Everything\u2019 protests, France24 is reporting.<\/p>\n French TV showed images of flames coming from the building, while a man was seen climbing down via scaffolding on the building next door.<\/p>\n Pictures show the restaurant is Wafu Bar, located in Rue St Denis. Police officers could be seen attempting to secure a perimeter around the building.<\/p>\n Police officers secure a perimeter around a restaurant fire after clashes with protesters during a rally against austerity measures following a call for action by the ‘Bloquons tout’ (Block everything) collective in Paris, France, 10 September 2025. Photograph: Yoan Valat\/EPAShare<\/a> One in, one out. On Monday night, \u201cBye-bye Bayrou\u201d parties were held around France as Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou, the now ex-prime minister of France, was ejected in a landslide parliamentary confidence vote<\/a> against his plans for austerity. Bayrou, the third French PM to resign in a year, had lasted just nine months. His predecessor, Michel Barnier, was toppled after just three.<\/p>\n Twenty-four hours after the government\u2019s collapse, the revolving door was opened again and Emmanuel Macron appointed a successor<\/a>: the 39-year-old defence minister and one of the president\u2019s closest allies, S\u00e9basian Lecornu. This was an uncharacteristically swift attempt by Macron to fill the vacuum and quell a mood of insurrection in the country. But it may not be enough.<\/p>\n Much depends on how extensively the call for a nationwide shutdown of transport and other services by a new grassroots protest campaign called Bloquons Tout! (Block Everything!) is heeded by the public.<\/p>\n The new PM took office amid street clashes with police<\/a>, burning bins, barricades and go-slow operations around the country. Some regional train services are down. The main trade unions have separately called for mobilisations and protests on the 18 September.<\/p>\n Organised anonymously online over the summer, and later supported by some leftwing parties, Bloquons Tout!, like the gilets jaunes anti-government movement of 2018<\/a>, is leaderless. Analysts, though, are wary of drawing close comparisons with the gilets jaunes. \u201cThe movement\u2019s ideological and sociological profile is difficult to establish,\u201d said Pierre Purseigle, lecturer in modern European history at the University of Warwick. \u201cThe political situation is evolving and we may know within weeks if Bloquons Tout! is a flash in the pan and or the harbinger of a mass social movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Protesters across France disrupted traffic, burnt rubbish bins and at times clashed with police on Wednesday in a bid to \u201cBlock Everything\u201d in a show of anger against president Emmanuel Macron<\/a>, the political establishment and planned budget cuts.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands of security forces who had been deployed across the country removed blockades as fast as possible, officials said, meaning that France<\/a> was, for now, not blocked despite some scuffles.<\/p>\n Nearly 300 protesters were arrested across the country.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered for largely peaceful protests in Marseille, Montpellier and Lyon.<\/p>\n In Marseille, police estimated the crowd at 8,000, while organisers claimed 30,000 participants and the CGT union reported as many as 80,000, France24 reported.<\/p>\n Lyon saw around 8,000 protesters, according to police, while Montpellier saw approximately 6,000.<\/p>\n In Montpellier, protesters carried anti-capitalist signs, demanded the protection of public services and chanted slogans including \u201cLecornu, you\u2019re screwed.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Political reactions to Lecornu’s appointment underscore challenge he faces<\/p>\n Reactions to new French prime minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu\u2019s appointment underscored the challenge he faces.<\/p>\n While the hard-left said it would seek to topple Lecornu with an immediate no-confidence motion, the far-right the National Rally (RN) signalled tentative willingness to work with him on the budget \u2013 as long as its budgetary demands are met, reports Reuters.<\/p>\n The RN is France\u2019s largest parliamentary party and as such a crucial factor in any potential no-confidence motion. Still, Lecornu is seen as the closest member of Emmanuel Macron\u2019s circle to the RN, having dined with RN president Jordan Bardella last year.<\/p>\n Bardella, reacting to Lecornu\u2019s speech on Wednesday, said the new prime minister \u201cis in a very precarious position.\u201d<\/p>\n Using the same word used by Lecornu in his speech, Bardella said he wanted to see the new government adopt RN concerns:<\/p>\n Either there\u2019s a rupture, or there\u2019s a no-confidence motion.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Summary of the day so far<\/p>\n It has just gone 3pm in Paris. Here is a summary of the day so far:<\/p>\n S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, picked by president Emmanuel Macron<\/a> to be France\u2019s fifth prime minister in two years, took office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests on Wednesday that underlined the depth of the country\u2019s political crisis.<\/p>\n Lecornu, a conservative Macron protege who most recently served as his defence minister, arrived at the prime minister\u2019s residence at midday where he met former prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou, who was ousted by parliament on Monday over plans to trim the country\u2019s outsized deficit.<\/p>\n France\u2019s new prime minister promised a \u201cprofound break\u201d with the past on Wednesday as he faced the thorny task of trying to build a government with enough parliamentary support to avoid an early demise. Lecornu said he would address the nation \u201cin the coming days\u201d to explain his approach, which would be different from the past, and \u201cnot just in method\u201d.<\/p>\n The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has already announced a no-confidence motion against Lecornu in parliament, for now with no backing from other parties.<\/p>\n Street protests have been taking place across France in a show of grassroots opposition to President Emmanuel Macron, which have resulted in clashes with police and near 300 arrests, as well as some disruption to transport, schools and other services.<\/p>\n Earlier Wednesday, France deployed 80,000 police nationwide to face demonstrators. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned demonstrators that there would be \u201czero tolerance\u201d for violence.<\/p>\n Despite a call by a loose left-wing coalition of organisers to \u201cblock everything\u201d, that target was only partly achieved. Most high-speed trains ran on schedule, and disruption to the Paris metro was minimal, operators reported. But many schools were blocked, and protesters occupied roads and railway stations across the country.<\/p>\n Protesters in and around Paris built barricades from rubbish bins, blocked schools and roads and pelted police with garbage early in the day. Paris police also reported that about 1,000 protesters tried to gain entry to the Gare du Nord but were prevented from doing so.<\/p>\n In the south-eastern city of Lyon, protesters blocked a road running through the city and set bins on fire, while in the western city of Nantes police used teargas to disperse protesters. In the southern port city of Marseille, police stopped 200 demonstrators from blockading a main road.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Protests against the French government, as part of the \u2018block everything\u2019 movement, have been taking place across the country. Here are just a few images of demonstrations in Montpellier, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Paris and Nantes:<\/p>\n Riot police forces use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a \u2018block everything\u2019 demonstration at the Place de la Comedie, in Montpellier, southern France. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys\/AFP\/Getty ImagesProtesters carry a fake coffin as they carry out a mock funeral of capitalism during a demonstration as part of the \u2018block everything\u2019 protest movement, in Bordeaux, south-western France. Photograph: Christophe Archambault\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA protester holds a placard which reads \u2018Barnier, Bayrou, Lecornu ??? France is cuckolded three times over\u2019 during a demonstration in Strasbourg as part of a grassroots protest movement called \u2018block everything\u2019. Photograph: Yves Herman\/ReutersFounder of French left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon speaks to protesters as he attends a \u2018block everything\u2019 demonstration in Paris. Photograph: Thomas Samson\/AFP\/Getty ImagesProtesters wear masks amid teargas during clashes at a \u2018block everything\u2019 demonstration in Nantes. Photograph: St\u00e9phane Mah\u00e9\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n For the third time in a year a French prime minister has resigned and the president has had to swiftly choose a replacement. What\u2019s behind the chaos? Angelique Chrisafis<\/a> reports in the latest episode of the Guardian\u2019s Today in Focus<\/a> podcast:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.31 EDT<\/p>\n With France gripped by a prolonged cycle of instability, where minority governments installed by President Emmanuel Macron have lurched from crisis to crisis, the movement also had support from people who did not protest, reports the Associated Press (AP).<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of weariness, shared weariness, a lot of frustration that things aren\u2019t moving forward,\u201d said Lila, a Paris office worker who asked that her family name not be published. \u201cThat, in part, explains these blockades and this generalised unhappiness.\u201d <\/p>\n Some criticised the disruptions, according to the AP.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit excessive,\u201d said Bertrand Rivard, an accounting worker on his way to a meeting in Paris. \u201cWe live in a democracy and the people should not block the country because the government doesn\u2019t take the right decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Nearly 300 protesters arrested, French interior ministry says<\/p>\n Nearly 300 protesters have been arrested across the country, Reuters reports, amid anger against Emmanuel Macron which the appointment of his new prime minister has done nothing to assuage.<\/p>\n In Paris, police fired teargas on youths blocking the entrance to a high school and firefighters removed burnt objects from a barricade.<\/p>\n \u201cI was expecting either a dissolution [of parliament] or a left-wing prime minister and we have neither, it\u2019s frustrating,\u201d said 18-year-old student Lisa Venier, who was among protesters near the Gare du Nord station.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.49 EDT<\/p>\n The newswires have captured some dramatic images of the protests across France:<\/p>\n A protester runs away after clashing with police in Toulouse. Photograph: Ed Jones\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA large crowd of \u2018block everything\u2019 protesters near a burning bin in Nantes. Photograph: St\u00e9phane Mah\u00e9\/ReutersSigns are held aloft in Lyon. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.11 EDT<\/p>\n Lecornu suggests change in policy needed<\/p>\n French prime minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu has said that his new government will need to be creative and talk with opposition parties, adding that there may need to be a change in policies as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThere must be changes \u2013 not just in terms of form or method, but in substance,\u201d he said at the handover ceremony from Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou.<\/p>\n \u201cNo big speech today. Starting from this afternoon, I will meet with members from the biggest political parties and in the coming days, other political parties, unions and I will have the occasion to explain myself before the French people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The lack of \u201cbig speech\u201d today means the new prime minister will not be addressing the country against a backdrop of huge nationwide protests.<\/p>\n Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou shakes hands with S\u00e9bastien Lecornu at the handover ceremony at the Hotel Matignon in Paris. Photograph: Ian Langsdon\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.10 EDT<\/p>\n One possible path for S\u00e9bastien Lecornu to pass the budget involves uniting the Socialists \u2013 who want to water down cuts and tax the rich \u2013 with his former party, the Republicans, who are dead-set against any tax rises, reports Reuters.<\/p>\n Emmanuel Macron, in an unusual step, called Socialist party leader Olivier Faure on Tuesday to tell him he would not be appointing a leftist as prime minister. But on Wednesday, Faure appeared to leave the door ajar to working with Lecornu, while also saying he would support a no-confidence measure if he felt the government did not take on board its budgetary priorities.<\/p>\n But the protests \u2013 an expression of broad discontent with Macron, proposed budget cuts and the entire political class \u2013 underline the task facing Lecornu. <\/p>\n \u201cAnger has been rumbling for months, even years,\u201d said Daniel Bretones, a union member protesting in Marseille. \u201cWe\u2019re on the fifth prime minister under Macron\u2019s second term, and it has never changed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.09 EDT<\/p>\n Meanwhile, here are some images from protests in Paris:<\/p>\n Protesters demonstrate in front of the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, on Wednesday, during the \u2018block everything\u2019 protest movement. Photograph: Alain Jocard\/AFP\/Getty ImagesProtesters chant as they demonstrate outside Gare du Nord railway station against French president Emmanuel Macron and his government. Photograph: Kiran Ridley\/Getty ImagesProtesters hold smoke flares and chant slogans as they demonstrate in front of the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, on Wednesday during the \u2018block everything\u2019 protest movement. Photograph: Alain Jocard\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>France’s new prime minister takes office amid anti-government protests<\/p>\n S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, picked by president Emmanuel Macron to be France\u2019s fifth prime minister in two years, took office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests on Wednesday that underlined the depth of the country\u2019s political crisis.<\/p>\n Lecornu, a conservative Macron protege who most recently served as his defence minister, arrived at the prime minister\u2019s residence at midday where he met former prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou, who was ousted by parliament on Monday over plans to trim the country\u2019s outsized deficit.<\/p>\n France\u2019s newly appointed prime minister and former minister of armed forces S\u00e9bastien Lecornu (R) shakes hands as he is welcomed by outgoing prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou for the handover ceremony at the Hotel Matignon in Paris on Wednesday. Photograph: Ludovic Marin\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Lecornu may then use his first speech to lay out how he will seek to reach consensus with an unruly parliament, split into three distinct ideological blocs, and pass a slimmed-down budget for next year, reports Reuters.<\/p>\n Lecornu has to send a full draft of the 2026 budget to parliament by 7 October, although there is some wriggle room until 13 October, after which lawmakers will run out of time to pass the budget by year\u2019s-end.<\/p>\n France’s outgoing prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou (C-L) welcomes newly appointed prime minister and S\u00e9bastien Lecornu (C-R) for the handover ceremony at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France. Photograph: Ian Langsdon\/EPA<\/p>\n Reactions to Lecornu\u2019s appointment on Tuesday underscored the challenge he faces.<\/p>\n Parties broadly agree on the need to slash France\u2019s deficit, which reached 5.8% of GDP in 2024, but not on how to do it. While the hard-left said it would seek to topple Lecornu with an immediate no-confidence motion, the far-right the National Rally (RN) signalled tentative willingness to work with him on the budget \u2013 as long as its budgetary demands are met.<\/p>\n Police take a protester from the \u2018block everything\u2019 movement into custody as demonstrators rally in Paris on Wednesday. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cHis budget will be RN or his government will not be,\u201d RN lawmaker Laure Lavalette posted on X late on Tuesday, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n The RN is France\u2019s largest parliamentary party and as such a crucial factor in any potential no-confidence motion. Still, Lecornu is seen as the closest member of Macron\u2019s circle to the RN, having dined with RN president Jordan Bardella last year.<\/p>\n![\"Katherine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Katherine_Butler.png\")
Katherine Butler<\/p>\n![\"Demonstrators](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5948.jpg\")
Demonstrators scuffle with police amid Block Everything protests across France \u2013 video Share<\/a><\/p>\n