‘Block Everything’ protests and pigs’ heads roil France as Macron installs new PM
By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS AP French officials say they re bracing for achievable acts of sabotage and other violence when tens of thousands of protesters are expected to respond to online calls to disrupt the country on Wednesday potentially compounding France s latest political situation triggered by the leadership s collapse The Bloquons Tout Block Everything movement gathered steam on social media and in encrypted chats over the summer before Fran ois Bayrou s ouster as prime minister in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday Its called-for day of blockades strikes demonstrations and other acts of protest on Wednesday is now falling as President Emmanuel Macron one of the movement s targets is installing a fourth prime minister in months S bastien Lecornu the outgoing defense minister was named as Macron s latest new prime minister on Tuesday evening A leaflet pinned on a window reads September answer the national call and join the general strike in Paris Tuesday Sept at the eve of a national protest AP Photo Aurelien Morissard Although ostensibly unrelated to the planned protests the discovery of severed pigs heads five of them written with Macron s name near nine Paris-area mosques on Tuesday added to unease bearing manageable hallmarks of previous suspected Russian-linked acts of attempted destabilization that have targeted France and other allies of Ukraine Paris police chief Laurent Nunez disclosed that although investigations are still underway we cannot help but draw links with previous acts that happened often at night and which later proved to be acts of foreign interference He revealed the depositing of pigs heads near four mosques in Paris and five others in its suburbs appeared to have been carried out simultaneously necessarily by several people French personnel have characterized other suspected Russian-linked acts as being part of a sustained effort to sow discord unrest and disinformation Coffins left near the Eiffel Tower specific draped in the French flag and inscribed with the words French soldiers of Ukraine in were linked by French bureaucrats to Russian intelligence services So too was an attack on a Holocaust memorial in Paris daubed with blood-red hands Massive police deployment The Block Everything movement which has grown virally with no clear identified leadership has a broad array of demands several targeting contested belt-tightening budget plans that Bayrou championed before his demise as well as broader complaints about inequality Calls online for strikes boycotts blockades and other forms of protest on Wednesday have been accompanied with appeals to avoid violence A man walks past a graffiti that reads September all-out strike in Paris Tuesday Sept at the eve of a national protest AP Photo Aurelien Morissard French leadership declared they were unsure how multiple people might take part Wednesday French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau explained that as well as peaceful protests there are other actions that could be far more intense blockages accomplishable acts of sabotage acts that could be far more violent Prospective targets could include oil refineries fuel stocks train stations and ring roads he noted He warned of small groups that aren t very numerous but which are very determined very organized very very seasoned and are looking for violence The police response would be absolutely massive he commented with police and gendarmes deployed to keep order backed by helicopters drones and armored vehicles Paris passage government stated Metro train and bus services were expected to run largely as normal with only moderate disruptions on certain lines Aviation executives warned of workable disruptions and delays to flights Related Articles Top EU official von der Leyen to outline plans for dealing with Europe s challenges in major speech World Athletics says of female athletes have completed sex testing ahead of world championships Brazil s Supreme Court nears a verdict in coup plot trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro Israeli strike targets Hamas leaders in Qatar as they weigh Gaza ceasefire proposal US tech companies enabled the surveillance and detention of hundreds of thousands in China It won t be a riot The spontaneity of Block Everything is reminiscent of the Yellow Vest movement that rocked Macron s first term as president It started with workers camping out at traffic circles to protest a hike in fuel taxes sporting high-visibility vests It rapidly spread to people across political regional social and generational divides angry at economic injustice and Macron s leadership F d rico Tarragoni a researcher of protest movements at the University of Caen in Normandy declared Block Everything supporters appear to believe that protest marches aren t effective and so are looking for more radical approaches to attract Macron s attention including blockades and other tactics used by the Yellow Vests He described the planned defense deployment as war-like They re anticipating blockades of roads banks production sites everything and there will doubtless be chosen he announced Wednesday s protests will test the popularity of both Macron and the movement he explained It won t be a riot And it won t be the Capitol after the polling of Joe Biden he commented referring to the mob that stormed the seat of the U S Congress on Jan But it will be potentially unmanageable because of the possibility of blockades he disclosed Managing that with police forces isn t necessarily going to be easy
