PARIS, September 10. /TASS/. Nationwide protest rallies and strikes against the government’s economic policies are taking place in France. According to French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, nearly 200 people have been detained for participating in riots so far.

TASS has compiled key information about the situation in the country.

Reasons behind protests

- On September 10, French citizens began holding protest rallies and strikes against the government’s economic policies.

- According to the media, the first calls to "block the country" appeared online in May. However, the calls spread after the July statement by then-Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who proposed making state holidays working days and applying austerity measures to fill the state’s coffers with almost 44 billion euros.

- Bayrou handed over his resignation to the president on September 9 after losing a confidence vote at the National Assembly (the lower chamber of the French parliament) on September 8.

- The Elysee Palace appointed former defense minister Sebastien Lecornu to his post.

Scale of protests and detentions

- The Interior Ministry expects up to 100,000 people to participate in various rallies across the country.

- A total of 80,000 gendarmes and police officers will ensure order in French cities and towns amid the threat of riots.

- Law enforcement officials have strengthened security measures in Paris neighborhoods housing key state institutions, Le Figaro reported.

- According to the newspaper, policemen on scooters are guarding the Luxembourg Palace, home of the French Senate (the upper house of parliament).

- The same security measures were undertaken near the Elysee Palace, where two armored gendarmerie cars were deployed.

- French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that he had given clear orders to the law enforcement officials to strictly thwart any unrest and "detain as many people as possible."

- According to the top brass, as of now, nearly 200 people have been detained in France for participating in strikes, including 132 in Paris and its suburbs.

- Les Echos reported that as of 9:30 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. GMT), gendarmes had recorded 154 rallies in which over 5,400 people participated.

Consequences

- Since early morning, small groups of protesters tried to block bus depots in Paris and managed to block several junctions.

- In Paris’ suburb of Montreuil, small groups of demonstrators are blocking roads and tram tracks with garbage and construction waste.

- Footage released shows law enforcement officials dispersing the protesters with batons and tear gas. At the same time, the demonstrators continue to try to block roads.

- Retailleau said during a BFMTV broadcast that the law enforcement officials managed to thwart several protest rallies in Bordeaux and Paris.

- The Paris metro is working as usual, whereas some RER and TER trains are being delayed due to a rail workers’ strike.

- The movement of long-distance trains near Toulouse in southwestern France was blocked after protesters set fire to power cables, thus knocking out the semaphore system, La Depeche reported.

- The power cables were damaged along a railway line in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in the south-west of the country, disrupting train services between Toulouse and Bordeaux.

- In Lyon, early in the morning, police prevented a group of demonstrators from entering the Perrache train station by using tear gas against them.

- Attempts to block the Lyon-Part-Dieu train station, where high-speed TGV trains arrive, are also expected during the day.

- In addition, according to the newspaper Le Figaro, about two or three hundred aggressive protesters tried to block the Pont Gallieni bridge at the junction with the A7 motorway, and the police used tear gas against them.

- A group of demonstrators attacked a bus on a highway near the city of Rennes in northwestern France and set it on fire, Radio Ici reported.

- At the moment, there are long traffic jams on the ring road around Rennes because groups of protesters have blocked traffic in several areas.