A grassroots protest movement that began on social media is gathering steam with its rallying cry to "Block everything" ("Bloquons tout”) in France on September 10. Organisers hope to bring the country to a standstill to protest Prime Minister François Bayrou’s national budget plan – even though the current government may fall before the demonstrations begin.
Issued on: 03/09/2025 -
FRANCE2
By: Barbara GABEL/ Joanna YORK
A protestor holds a smoke bomb aloft during a May Day rally, marking International Workers' Day, in Paris, on May 1, 2025. © Alain Jocard, AFP
Across social media in France, three words have been proliferating since Bayrou announced his national budget plan on July 15: “Boycott, disobedience and solidarity” ("Boycott, désobéissance et solidarité").
Behind the slogan is the burgeoning national protest movement "Block everything" (Bloquons tout) calling for a day of national protest on September 10 in a bid to paralyze the country.
The citizens collective, which has about 20 organisers according to French newspaper Le Parisien, says it is independent of political parties and unions. On social media platforms X, TikTok, Telegram and Facebook, its message has taken off with supporters sharing visuals under the hashtags #10septembre2025 and #10septembre.
The trigger for such widespread discontent is Bayrou’s 2026 financial plan aiming to slash €43.8 million from the national budget and reduce France’s spiralling deficit. Among the most controversial austerity measures are plans to remove two national holidays, a freeze on pensions and €5 billion in health cuts.
But in the weeks since support for the protest took off, France’s political landscape has shifted dramatically. Bayrou in late August called for a parliamentary confidence vote in his government – and its budget – which will take place on September 8.
The prime minister is all but certain to lose the vote, forcing his resignation and leaving France, once again, without a government or a financial plan.
In this scenario, will the September 10 protests still go ahead?
“Definitely,” says Andrew W M Smith, historian of Modern France at Queen Mary University, London. “If the government falls on September 8, then on September 10 people will feel that the streets are where politics needs to be done. The protests will be even more emboldened because of the reality of an apparent political crisis.”
'Feeling left behind'
On a website created for the movement, which has since been removed, the collective listed a wide range of demands including massive reinvestment in public services, an end to job cuts, and for all public holidays to be maintained.
But the government is not the only target for the organisers’ discontent.
Recommended forms of protest include boycotting major retailers such as Carrefour, Amazon and Auchan, withdrawing money from major banks and the “peaceful occupation of symbolic locations” such as local government administrative buildings and town halls.
A social media post linked to the movement viewed more than 1.5 million times calls on supporters to help “stop the machine” that is crushing “worn out, invisible” citizens.
Across social media in France, three words have been proliferating since Bayrou announced his national budget plan on July 15: “Boycott, disobedience and solidarity” ("Boycott, désobéissance et solidarité").
Behind the slogan is the burgeoning national protest movement "Block everything" (Bloquons tout) calling for a day of national protest on September 10 in a bid to paralyze the country.
The citizens collective, which has about 20 organisers according to French newspaper Le Parisien, says it is independent of political parties and unions. On social media platforms X, TikTok, Telegram and Facebook, its message has taken off with supporters sharing visuals under the hashtags #10septembre2025 and #10septembre.
The trigger for such widespread discontent is Bayrou’s 2026 financial plan aiming to slash €43.8 million from the national budget and reduce France’s spiralling deficit. Among the most controversial austerity measures are plans to remove two national holidays, a freeze on pensions and €5 billion in health cuts.
But in the weeks since support for the protest took off, France’s political landscape has shifted dramatically. Bayrou in late August called for a parliamentary confidence vote in his government – and its budget – which will take place on September 8.
The prime minister is all but certain to lose the vote, forcing his resignation and leaving France, once again, without a government or a financial plan.
In this scenario, will the September 10 protests still go ahead?
“Definitely,” says Andrew W M Smith, historian of Modern France at Queen Mary University, London. “If the government falls on September 8, then on September 10 people will feel that the streets are where politics needs to be done. The protests will be even more emboldened because of the reality of an apparent political crisis.”
'Feeling left behind'
On a website created for the movement, which has since been removed, the collective listed a wide range of demands including massive reinvestment in public services, an end to job cuts, and for all public holidays to be maintained.
But the government is not the only target for the organisers’ discontent.
Recommended forms of protest include boycotting major retailers such as Carrefour, Amazon and Auchan, withdrawing money from major banks and the “peaceful occupation of symbolic locations” such as local government administrative buildings and town halls.
A social media post linked to the movement viewed more than 1.5 million times calls on supporters to help “stop the machine” that is crushing “worn out, invisible” citizens.
A social media post outlining the objectives of France's Block Everything protest movement. © @SarahHRakM4, X
On September 10, they write, “we won’t pay anymore, we won’t consume anymore, we won’t work anymore, and we will keep our children at home. Our only power is a total boycott”.
Other forms of suggested action call for solidarity such as creating strike funds, organising neighbourhood assemblies, and supporting protestors who engage in acts of civil disobedience.
It may be frustration over plans to cut two public holidays that ignited calls for protest, “but the movement is much broader”, says Paul Smith, head of the department of Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham, UK. “It’s become about the idea of people feeling left behind.”
“It’s calling for a refocusing of political attention on the cost-of-living crisis and people feeling underrepresented by what's happening in Parliament,” adds Andrew W M Smith.
There are echoes of the 2018 Yellow Vest (gilets jaunes) protest, which began with social media users venting frustration over rising petrol prices but grew to encompass street protests that attracted tens of thousands frustrated by a broad sense of economic injustice.
The Yellow Vest movement was not affiliated with any specific political party or union and had no single leader. Its emblem was instead the florescent yellow vest that French law requires all drivers to have in their vehicles and which protestors wore en masse during demonstrations.
In terms of its material objectives, the movement was only partially successful, achieving small but significant wins such as raising minimum pensions.
Block everything for now only exists in the digital space. But its grassroots organisation, generalised frustration with the authorities, and combative tone are all in the same mould as its predecessor.
On September 10, they write, “we won’t pay anymore, we won’t consume anymore, we won’t work anymore, and we will keep our children at home. Our only power is a total boycott”.
Other forms of suggested action call for solidarity such as creating strike funds, organising neighbourhood assemblies, and supporting protestors who engage in acts of civil disobedience.
It may be frustration over plans to cut two public holidays that ignited calls for protest, “but the movement is much broader”, says Paul Smith, head of the department of Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham, UK. “It’s become about the idea of people feeling left behind.”
“It’s calling for a refocusing of political attention on the cost-of-living crisis and people feeling underrepresented by what's happening in Parliament,” adds Andrew W M Smith.
There are echoes of the 2018 Yellow Vest (gilets jaunes) protest, which began with social media users venting frustration over rising petrol prices but grew to encompass street protests that attracted tens of thousands frustrated by a broad sense of economic injustice.
The Yellow Vest movement was not affiliated with any specific political party or union and had no single leader. Its emblem was instead the florescent yellow vest that French law requires all drivers to have in their vehicles and which protestors wore en masse during demonstrations.
In terms of its material objectives, the movement was only partially successful, achieving small but significant wins such as raising minimum pensions.
Block everything for now only exists in the digital space. But its grassroots organisation, generalised frustration with the authorities, and combative tone are all in the same mould as its predecessor.
Murky origins
While the organisers of Block everything have said the movement is apolitical, questions have emerged over its origins.
The first post calling for a September 10 protest appeared in May – well before Bayrou had announced his budget – posted by anti-government group, Les Essentiels France.
As little is known about who runs the group or what its affiliations are, “it's always worth being alert to the possibility of manipulation, especially by foreign interests”, says Andrew W M Smith.
Online support for the idea of a September 10 protest surged after Bayrou’s budget announcement in July, with figures on extreme right quick to align themselves with the burgeoning movement.
Since then, the movement has garnered widespread support from left-wing parties, spearheaded by the firebrand leader of the France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
“Much like the Yellow Vests there have been plenty of people willing to try and own some of the political dynamism and force of the movement by attaching themselves to it,” says Andrew WM Smith.
An alignment with the left fits the profile of the average supporter of the movement, according to a survey published on Monday by French think-tank Fondation Jean-Jaurès.
Among more than 1,000 supporters interviewed in mid-August, 69% said they had voted for Mélenchon’s hard-left party in the first round of the 2022 presidential election, compared with 22% of the population as a whole.
Just 2% said they had voted for President Emmanuel Macron and 3% for hard-right leader Marine Le Pen in the same election.
The survey found that despite apparent similarities with the Yellow Vest movement, Block everything’s supporters are less focused on economic insecurity, and more on “strong politicisation and a desire to engage on behalf of collective interests”.
Lack of union support
Most major union chiefs have so far refused to align themselves with Block everything, despite sharing many of their political concerns.
A petition launched by five major unions against Bayrou’s budget on July 22 has so far amassed more than 375,000 signatures.
"The horror show that is the draft budget must be abandoned," CFDT union chief Marylise Léon on Friday, even though her union will not participate in the September 10 protests.
Only the hard-left CGT union has said it will support Block everything by organising strikes on September 10.
The inter-union group has instead called for “major strikes and protests” on September 18 – an announcement that is unlikely to take the wind out of Block everything’s sails.
Compared with a formal union strike, September 10’s grassroots protest is, “much less controlled, and much less organised”, says Paul Smith. “That makes stopping it really quite difficult.”
This article was adapted from the original in French.
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