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France faces a day of gridlock on Wednesday as a grassroots movement to ‘block everything’ threatens to paralyse the country’s transport networks.
The demonstrations, branded Bloquons tout (‘let’s block everything’), are part of a nationwide strike against Prime Minister François Bayrou’s proposed austerity plan – action that will continue even after his fragile minority government collapsed this week.
The movement to “block everything” bubbled up online as far back as July. In recent weeks, it spread rapidly on TikTok, Telegram and other platforms with viral calls for boycotts, blockades and strikes.
Its popular beginnings have drawn it comparisons to the Yellow Vest protests in 2018, which grew from anger over fuel prices into nationwide action against political elites.
At the centre of the anger this time is Bayrou’s 2026 financial plan, which sought to cut €44 billion from the national budget to reduce France’s deficit. Key measures included removing two national holidays, freezing pensions and cutting €5 billion in health spending.
The protest now comes amid deepening political turmoil. Bayrou’s debt reduction plan drew widespread outrage and led him to announce his resignation on Monday.
His government lasted just nine months, making him France’s third prime minister to step down in the past year.
What travellers can expect amid strikes in France
France’s transport sector is expected to bear the brunt of the action.
Sud-Rail has pledged a ‘massive strike’ that could lead to thousands of SNCF rail cancellations nationwide. Regional RER and Transilien services around Paris are also expected to run reduced timetables.
Bonjour RATP, the mobile app run by the Paris public transport operator, forecasts heavy disruptions on several commuter lines, although currently the metro service is expected to be ‘almost normal’.
Although the country’s unions were not behind the original campaign, their recent support has given it extra weight. The powerful CGT union recently endorsed the action, raising the prospect of disruption to trains, ferries, fuel supplies and other services.
Eurostar, the high-speed service linking London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, says its trains will run as normal during the strike. But with France’s domestic rail services severely disrupted, knock-on effects remain likely. Travellers could face missed connections, limited onward options and crowded alternative routes.
Air traffic control strikes loom
Even more transport disruption awaits travellers in France this month. France’s largest air traffic controllers’ union has confirmed a 24-hour walkout from 18 to 19 September.
Expected to be one of the biggest ATC strikes in years, the action will affect not only flights to and from France but also thousands that cross its airspace. Routes between the UK, Spain, Italy and other European destinations are likely to see delays and cancellations.
The interruptions follow a wave of strikes in July that grounded hundreds of flights, stranding passengers during the peak summer travel season and drawing the ire of airlines. With September’s walkout falling outside the holidays, airlines warn of limited flexibility to rebook travellers quickly.
Under EU passenger rights legislation, anyone whose flight is cancelled is entitled to re-routing on the earliest available service – including with other airlines – as well as hotel accommodation and meals if stranded overnight. Financial compensation is typically not provided for ATC strikes, however.
With political upheaval in Paris, protests nationwide and airport strikes all occurring at once, September is shaping up to be a difficult month for anyone travelling in or across France.
Passengers are advised to plan ahead, monitor updates from operators closely and brace for last-minute changes.
