'Block Everything' protests sweep France, intensifying pressure on Macron

Protesters blocked highways and gas stations across France early Wednesday as part of a new nationwide movement.

PARIS — Protesters set fires as they blocked highways and gas stations across France early Wednesday as part of a new nationwide movement. Authorities deployed 80,000 police, who made hundreds of arrests and fired tear gas to disperse crowds.

The "Block Everything" movement was born online over the summer in far-right circles, but spread on social media and was co-opted by left-wing, antifascist and anarchist groups. It now includes France’s far-left parties and the country’s powerful labor unions.

Their joint day of unrest adds to the country’s political turmoil, after the collapse of centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s government earlier this week in a similar backlash over proposed budget cuts and broader anger at the political class.

Anti-riot police officers during clashes with protesters in Toulouse, France, on Wednesday.Ed Jones / AFP via Getty ImagesBarricades were erected in several major French cities, including Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse. Entry to an Amazon depot in northern France was also blocked as the country's largest union said some 715 disruptions had been organized nationwide.

A bus was set on fire in the western city of Rennes, according to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. In the southwest, fire damage to electrical cables stopped train services and traffic, government transport authorities said.