Telegram channels became active at dawn. Small groups tried to gather to put the day's slogan, "Block Everything," into action. But from beltways to RATP bus depots in Paris, and from roundabouts to transport infrastructure across all of France, protesters quickly ran into heavy law enforcement deployment. Before sunrise, tear gas grenades were already being used to prevent any attempt at blockades. According to outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, 80,000 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized.

France did not come to a standstill or grind to a halt on Wednesday, September 10. Nonetheless, numerous protests took place throughout the day nationwide, with large gatherings in some cities. The Interior Ministry reported 596 public gatherings and 253 blockades, bringing together about 197,000 people across France, while the hardline CGT union reported 250,000 demonstrators. In total, 540 arrests were made, including 211 in Paris, and 415 people were placed in police custody, 110 of them in the capital, according to the Interior Ministry.

Conceived across social media this past summer and organized far from unions or political parties, the "Block Everything" movement brought together a range of grievances and represented an amalgamation of diverse anger, fragmented from one region to another. The open support of the La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) party since late August clearly played a role, especially in larger cities and urban areas, with a particularly high turnout from young people: According to the national education authority, around 100 high schools were disrupted and 27 were blocked nationwide. LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard visited several protest sites in Paris, including the SUD-Rail union's general assembly at Gare de Lyon.

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