France in the throes of protests

French President Emmanuel Macron nominated his close confidant Sebastien Le Corneour as Prime Minister on Tuesday. Since then, protests have started in various cities including Paris and Marseille.

The protests began against the selection of President Emmanuel Macron's loyalist leader Sebastien Le Corneour as the new Prime Minister. But within 24 hours, the direction of the 'Block Everything' movement changed somewhat in France. The protesters targeted the Macron government's budget cuts and debt policy.

François Berrut resigned as Prime Minister on Monday after losing a confidence vote in the French Parliament due to internal disputes within the ruling coalition. On Tuesday, President Macron nominated his close confidant Sebastien as Prime Minister of France. According to the French constitution, the president has the power to appoint the prime minister. But hundreds of thousands of French people, angry at various government policies, have been protesting and blocking various cities, including the capital Paris, since Wednesday. Clashes with police, vandalism, and arson have begun. On Thursday, the French Interior Ministry said that 300 protesters have been arrested so far. About 50,000 police have been deployed to control the situation.

Some political observers believe that Macron's move to provide tax breaks to the super-rich in order to attract investment is one of the reasons for the anger. France has a 2 percent tax on the super-rich. 1,800 people have assets worth more than 100 million euros (about 1033 crore rupees). They are the ones who are considered super-rich. Most French citizens support the old tax policy. Macron opposed it. His government's budget cuts and debt policy are also among the reasons for the protests. In this situation, many believe that there may be a resurgence of far-right forces in French politics.