Dozens of arrests already on the day of the mass demonstrations

In France, blockades and acts of sabotage are expected this Wednesday in the wake of nationwide calls for demonstrations. The extent of the protests is still uncertain. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced that he would mobilize 80,000 police officers and take decisive action against blockades.

Already this morning, 75 people were arrested in the Paris area. Police did not provide details. Media reported, among other things, an attempt to block a bus depot and blockades at high schools.

The railway announced disruptions to regional services. Operations at French airports could also come to a standstill, warned the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

Just one day after the fall of the center-right government in France, President Emmanuel Macron appointed former Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister on Tuesday evening. The 39-year-old minister is considered a confidant of Macron. Lecornu will now consult with the political forces in the National Assembly to draft the urgently needed budget, it was announced. He will also reach agreements with them regarding the decisions to be made in the coming months.

The Élysée Palace statement stated that only afterward would the new prime minister propose his government team. His actions should be guided, among other things, by the defense of France's independence and strength. "The President of the Republic is convinced that, on these foundations, an agreement between the political forces is possible, respecting each other's convictions."

Following the ouster of Prime Minister François Bayrou, President Emmanuel Macron is once again in the spotlight. He doesn't have much time: a new civil society movement is pressuring him. But he's using it to quickly appoint a new head of government.

Coming from the conservatives, Lecornu was appointed to Édouard Philippe's centrist government in 2017. Lecornu is said to have a certain affinity with the right-wing nationalist leader Marine Le Pen. He is considered a politician who is tolerated by the bourgeois right and who, at least on the left, is not met with blatant opposition.

On Monday evening, former Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a vote of confidence in the National Assembly after less than nine months in office, thus bringing down his minority government. Michel Barnier's center-right cabinet had already fallen in December. After months of instability, France must now hope for political progress.

This is especially crucial with regard to the budget. The heavily indebted country must stabilize its austerity course and pass a budget for the coming year. How a new government will manage this, given the widely divergent positions in the divided parliament, remains unclear.