New prime minister and old problems: protests in France

France is experiencing a period of significant political instability, as President Emmanuel Macron appoints his fifth prime minister in less than two years amid widespread national protests. On Tuesday, September 9, President Macron appointed 39-year-old Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as the new prime minister.

The rapid turnover of prime ministers stems from the June 2024 parliamentary elections, in which Macron's centrist alliance was left without a majority in the National Assembly. Parliament is now fractured among three main groups: the left, centrists, and the far-right, making it extremely difficult for the government to pass laws, especially budgets.

Lecornu's predecessor, François Bayrou, was ousted on Monday, September 8, after losing a no-confidence vote he himself had initiated. He had proposed to cut public spending by 44 billion euros ($51 billion) to address France's growing debt problem. The proposed cuts, which included freezing pensions and eliminating two national holidays, were declared highly unacceptable. Opposition parties united against them, and against the government.

However, the change of prime minister did not calm the situation in France. Parallel to the political instability, movements of disagreement in the streets do not cease. A massive, popular protest movement known as "Bloquons tout" ("Block Everything") organized a day of national disruption on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. The government deployed 80,000 police officers to control the demonstrations.

This movement spread rapidly over the summer on social platforms like TikTok and Telegram, initially as a response to the budget cuts proposed by Bayrou. But the actions have continued even after the fall of his government. The protests are decentralized and comparable to the "Yellow Vests" movement of 2018. Protesters have carried out blockades, strikes, and demonstrations across the country.

In Paris, demonstrators built barricades and threw trash cans at police, in Lyon a highway was blocked, and in Nantes, police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

All of this has created a difficult situation for President Macron, who has about a year and a half left in his term.