At 7am on the eastern edge of the busy Paris ring road at Montreuil, Jess, a 35-year-old hospital neurologist, had joined protesters attempting to stop traffic in order to show her anger at the French government.<\/p>\n
\u201cInequality is rife in France<\/a> and this is the only way to be heard,\u201d she said. Pushed back with teargas by riot police, Jess, who asked for her real name not to be published, said she was scared by police tactics but felt it was crucial to be on the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic services are failing, the quality of care in hospitals is getting worse,\u201d she said. \u201cYears of cuts to the health sector means doctors suffer, patients suffer. The health service is very visibly the target of austerity cuts that are having an impact on people\u2019s wellbeing. Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer, people are getting poorer and the politicians aren\u2019t listening. No one is even taking account of the way we vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Protesters in Lille take cover from water cannon. Photograph: Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Badias\/AP<\/p>\n Jess had joined the Block Everything day of action, a loose protest movement with no leader that began on messaging groups over the summer to plan protests against budget cuts and the government. Some trade unions later added their support as well as Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon\u2019s leftwing party, La France Insoumise. Those on the street on Wednesday came from a variety of backgrounds.<\/p>\n Jess took part in the street demonstrations against Emmanuel Macron\u2019s rise in the pension age<\/a> in 2023 and supported the \u201c<\/a>gilets jaunes\u201d<\/a> (yellow vests) anti-government protest movement in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re being listened to by politicians,\u201d said another protester, a 28-year-old high-school philosophy teacher. \u201cThere\u2019s a lack of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest French political crisis<\/a> this week has only added to the protesters\u2019 fury. S\u00e9bastien Lecornu<\/a>, a close Macron ally who had served as defence minister, was appointed prime minister on Tuesday after the centrist Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou<\/a> was ousted by parliament after only nine months in office over his unpopular budget.<\/p>\n Protesters near the Gare du Nord train station during a day of protests in Paris. Photograph: Beno\u00eet Tessier\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cLecornu\u2019s appointment shows complete contempt for voters,\u201d said a 25-year-old doctoral students in social sciences. In Montreuil, banners read \u201cMacron give the money back\u201d and featured jokes about barricades being \u201cBayroucades\u201d.<\/p>\n