PARIS, France – France’s interior minister announced the arrest of about 200 people in the early stages of a nationwide protest day.
Although the protest movement failed to achieve its stated intention to “disrupt everything”, it began online and gained momentum over the summer.
This caused widespread unrest, defying an exceptional deployment of 80,000 police officers who dispersed checkpoints and carried out widespread arrests.
Interior Minister Bruno Retello said that a bus was set on fire in the western city of Rennes, and that damage to a power line led to the cessation of train traffic on a line in the southwest.
Protesters clashed with police early Wednesday morning in Paris, setting fire to garbage bins.
Protesters, angry with French President Emmanuel Macron over his austerity policies, plan to disrupt activity across the country.
The authorities said they were preparing to confront attempts to block roads and acts of sabotage.
This is part of nationwide calls for demonstrations, although the exact scale of the protests remains uncertain.
The slogan of the “Let’s disrupt everything” movement spread after the previous government presented an austerity budget.
Before it was dropped on Monday after Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a vote of confidence and submitted his resignation.
The French railway company announced disruptions to regional transport services.
While the French Civil Aviation Authority warned of the possibility of halting operations at French airports.
According to French media, companies and universities will also witness protests.
