In early September 2025, France was rocked by nationwide protests under the banner “Bloquons Tout” (“Block Everything”), a movement born of widespread anger over proposed budget cuts and perceived political instability. What began as viral calls on social media to disrupt public life has evolved into mass demonstrations and general strikes sweeping cities across the country.
The immediate trigger was the budget framework unveiled by former Prime Minister François Bayrou in July, which aimed to cut nearly €44 billion from public spending. Key measures included freezing pensions, slashing health care budgets, and removing two national holidays, moves that many citizens perceived as an attack on social rights and public welfare.
On September 10, 2025, the first major day of protests under “Bloquons Tout,” an estimated 200,000 people demonstrated all throughout the country, though some unions claimed numbers were closer to 250,000. Moreover, nearly 800 protest actions were recorded, including organized gatherings, roadblocks, and blockades of public transport hubs. Police deployed around 80,000 officers nationwide, while hundreds of arrests were made amid reports of clashes, barricades, and fires in cities like Paris, Rennes, and Nantes.
While Bayrou’s government collapsed following a no-confidence vote on September 8, the protests have continued under his successor, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who faces the challenge of governing amid a sharply divided parliament and public discontent. 
What is more, on September 18, 2025, an anticipated wave of massive strikes and demonstrations unfolded all over the country, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in over 250 cities. Organized by the eight most influential unions along with students and public sector workers, the protesters disrupted schools, public transportation, and workplaces, while minor clashes with police erupted in major cities like Paris, Lyon, and Nantes.
Union estimates put participation at around one million, signaling a profound public revolt and a nation once again at a boiling point over its social contract.
