French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Friday, September 5 that he did not anticipate a "large-scale" response to calls for protests next week, but ordered police to "show the utmost firmness" in case of any disorder. A viral campaign has for weeks urged French people to stage a nationwide "shutdown" next Wednesday, two days after the government of Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a confidence vote in Parliament over an austerity budget standoff.
"I don't believe there will be any large-scale movements," Retailleau said, adding that radical-left forces and some unions have backed the anti-government campaign dubbed "Block Everything." "It is very clear that the movement has shifted to the left," he added. "Given the nature of these movements and their radicalism, there may be some spectacular actions."
Organizers of the campaign have floated tactics ranging from protests to civil disobedience actions such as blocking train stations and picketing oil refineries. Intelligence officials have warned that the movement's decentralized nature makes its scale and impact difficult to predict, with law enforcement preparing for any eventuality.
"I have sent a telegram to the prefects [top local officials] asking them to show the utmost firmness," Retailleau said. "Blocking everything is worse than anything else. The country doesn't need to be blocked." In the message, dated Thursday, Retailleau ordered police to fully mobilize to "manage this crisis." "No damage to public buildings in general, and landmark buildings in particular, will be tolerated," he said, adding that schools and universities must also be protected.
Signs have multiplied that many French people are growing exasperated with political deadlock, as well as issues including the cost of living and crime. Bayrou's government is expected to lose Monday's confidence vote, in a new blow to President Emmanuel Macron, now on his sixth prime minister since taking office in 2017. Separately, trade unions have called for protests on September 18 over France's "horror show" draft budget.