A restaurant in the centre of Paris has been engulfed in flames amid the nationwide ‘Block Everything’ protest attended by around 200,000 people today.

Fire raged in the Japanese Wafu Bar on Rue St Denis,with a video showing a man climbing down a scaffolding on the building next door,in a race for his life.

This is one of the many ramifications of the riots against French president Emmanuel Macron,the political establishment and planned budget cuts.

Public prosecutor,Laure Beccuau,told the press: ‘Based on the information we have,it could have been an accidental fire linked to police interventions to deal with large and particularly hostile gatherings in the Les Halles area.’

France came to a standstill as police clashed with protesters who blocked roads across the country and set more than 100 fires.

Some rallies remained peaceful,but many turned violent – and the Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 13 security officers have been injured.

Authorities said they had even ‘thwarted’ an ‘intrusion attempt’ on Gare du Nord in Paris,where the Eurostar to London runs from.

Hundreds of youths had gathered outside,chanting anti-Macron slogans.

Rioters are seen throwing electric bikes on a fire to block traffic in Paris,France (Picture: Paris)

One carried a placard with the Tricolor flag and the slogan ‘The rich elite’s Republic’.

Sorbonne student Emma Meguerditchian,17,said: ‘We have come to make some noise.

‘We want them to know we can’t take this any more,we want another type of government.’

Protesters had also attempted to obstruct tram tracks around the Porte de Montreuil in eastern Paris,before officers dismantled the obstacles and dispersed them.

Police clear a highway,as protesters attend a demonstration in Porter d’Aubervilliers (Picture: Reuters)

As many as 473 people were arrested during hundreds of rallies after the government mobilised more than 80,000 police officers and gendarmes.

In the capital,police deployed teargas to disperse crowds and unleashed their batons on protesters.

This comes as France’s new prime minister,Sébastien Lecornu,entered office.

Less than 48 hours ago,parliament ousted prime minister Francois Bayrou in a confidence vote over his plans to tame the country’s ballooning debt.

Members of the police try to extinguish a fire as they clear a highway as protesters attend a demonstration in Porter d’Aubervilliers (Picture: Reuters)

In turn,this led Macron to appoint his fifth prime minister in less than two years,choosing a close ally in the face of Lecornu,which outraged those on the left.

Fred,a CGT union official at the Paris public transport company RATP,said: ‘It is the same sh**,it is the same,it is Macron who is the problem,not the ministers. He has to go.’

What is the 'Block Everything' movement in France?

A demonstrator holds a placard referencing the new French prime minister as crowds gather in Chatelet on September 10,2025 (Picture: Getty)Bloquons Tout – or the ‘Block Everything’ movementfirst emerged in May.It called for a general strike and nationwide shutdown on September 10,2025 to oppose the austerity measures proposed by the François Bayrou.After emerging online,it so far has no clear identified leadership. Its demands mostly target the contested belt-tightening budget plans as well as broader complaints about inequality.The movements reflects the anger with what protesters say is the dysfunctional ruling elite in France.It has drawn comparisons with the ‘Yellow Vest’ rebellion that erupted in 2018-2019 over taxes and the cost of living and forced Macron to make policy concessions costing billions of euros.But sociologist Antoine Bristielle at the Jean Jaures Foundation think tank noted a generational divide between the two.He said: ‘In the “Yellow Vest” movement,we had a rather vulnerable France that was struggling to make ends meet,a lot of workers,a lot of retirees.‘Whereas here,in terms of age,it is many young people.’He added that they have ‘a certain vision of the world where there is more social justice,less inequality and a political system that functions differently,better.’Got a story?