Social. September 10 Movement: Authorities Expect Action Across the Country
Blockades of train stations, traffic routes, refineries, warehouses of large retailers like Amazon, and classic demonstrations are all mentioned in a jumble.
Although the hypothesis of a government fall on September 8 is the most likely, the services consider that September 10 will be "a day that will count." Illustrative photo Sipa/Gerard Bottino
Authorities expect various actions across the country for the day of mobilization on September 10, the scale of which remains a big unknown, as it is a "horizontal movement where everyone does what they want." Intelligence services note that this movement "has changed direction" since its launch on social networks , with "a takeover by the far left and ultra-left," explained a security source.
With the start of the school year, the services note that the mobilization now involves "meetings and general assemblies where people meet and exchange concretely." There are meetings "everywhere, in villages and not just in big cities," and everyone, the source added, "has their own idea." "It's going in all directions." The list of blockades of train stations, traffic routes, refineries, depots of large retailers like Amazon, free toll or free trolley operations (leaving supermarkets without paying), sabotage of automatic speed cameras, ATMs, and classic demonstrations are all mentioned.
"While we're seeing increasing support at the meetings, there's a degree of uncertainty. Everything will depend on the number of people actually mobilized on the day to undertake a particular action," the security source explained. "It's a horizontal movement; there's no one leader; everyone does what they want," she continued, making it difficult for the authorities to anticipate the actions that will be taken and their scope.
Although the hypothesis of a fall of François Bayrou 's government on September 8 is the most likely, the services consider that September 10 will be "a day that will count" because there is "discontent and anger." It is also part of "a sequence, with a day of union action planned for September 18."
As for the demands, there is no single slogan, ranging from "local and economic demands to the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron ," the source listed. Authorities are also closely monitoring what students and high school students might do, worrying about a massive and uncontrolled mobilization. "The images won't be pretty," a police official predicted.
In Paris, law enforcement is preparing for any eventuality and, as during the Yellow Vest movement or the demonstrations against pension reform, it will secure all the capital's emblematic sites such as the Élysée Palace, Matignon, ministries, the National Assembly, and the Senate. Prefectures are also on alert throughout the country, although authorities are anticipating stronger protests in certain regions, such as the west, particularly with the cities of Rennes and Nantes.
The Peasant Confederation will join the movement, not the FNSEA
The Confédération Paysanne, France's third-largest agricultural union, announced Wednesday its intention to participate in the multi-sector protest planned for September 10, unlike its rival, the FNSEA, and will demonstrate in Brussels on Thursday to oppose the EU-Mercosur agreement.
At the end of a summer marked by droughts and animal diseases, "we are still waiting for concrete responses to the agricultural anger," to the need "simply to make a decent living from our profession," explained its spokesperson Thomas Gibert during the union's back-to-school press conference in Paris. "That's why we feel entirely legitimate in participating in this movement, in convergence with all the anger that is gathering around this date of September 10 (...) We will be there and we will clearly call for people to join the mobilizations and organize them," he added.
Le Bien Public
