Protests Erupt Across France Demanding Macron’s Resignation

Protesters across France disrupted traffic, burnt rubbish bins and at times clashed with police on Wednesday in a bid to "Block Everything" in a show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron, the political establishment and planned budget cuts.

Tens of thousands of security forces who had been deployed across the country removed blockades as fast as possible, officials said, meaning that France was, for now, not blocked despite some scuffles.

Nearly 300 protesters were arrested across the country.

Many demonstrators vented their anger against Macron, who is already facing political turmoil after the parliamentary opposition united to defeat his government on Monday.

The president appointed a close ally as his new prime minister, conservative Sebastien Lecornu, who took office on Wednesday facing the same challenge to rein in France's ballooning debt as his predecessor.

"It's the same shit, it's the same, it's Macron who's the problem, not the ministers," Fred, a representative for the RATP public transport branch of the CGT union said at a protest in Paris. "He has to go."

In Paris, police fired tear gas on youths blocking the entrance to a high school and firefighters removed burnt objects from a barricade.

Police said they had stopped a large group of about 1,000 protesters from entering the Gare du Nord train station in the city.

"I was expecting either a dissolution (of parliament) or a left-wing prime minister and we have neither, it's frustrating," said 18-year-old student Lisa Venier, who was among the protesters near the Gare du Nord.

Protesters torched a bus in the western city of Rennes, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters. He also said some protesters had attacked police with heavy cobblestones, but did not specify where.

Retailleau warned that protest rallies scheduled for later in the day could be infiltrated by hard-line, ultra-left groups and become violent.