PARIS (Dispatches) - French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has reportedly instructed the nation’s largest telecom operators to prepare for the possible suspension of social media access during weekend protests, according to French investigative outlet Blast.
The directive, delivered via letter to Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom, called for temporary blocks on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and X. 
According to meeting minutes reviewed by Blast, officials sought to limit any platform restrictions to cellular networks and specific geographic areas — not nationwide blackouts. The telecom companies pushed back against the proposal, saying they lacked the technical capacity to deploy such measures on short notice.
The reported request evokes previous restrictions imposed during 2024 protests in New Caledonia, when authorities blocked TikTok access across the territory. France’s Council of State overturned that decision in 2025, ruling against the government’s authority to restrict platform access in the overseas territory. The Yellow Vests movement returned to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate against rising living costs, with authorities detaining approximately 1,000 participants in the unrest.
On Sunday, French protest groups and unions called for further demonstrations as they sought to maintain pressure on the government after a huge security operation helped to contain unrest during nationwide rallies on Saturday.
The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people took part in Saturday’s marches as authorities deployed 70,000 police, helping to avert a repeat of the looting and vandalism that swept many cities on October 17.
Labor leaders urged further protests next Saturday and a nationwide strike on November 5, saying frustration over wages, living costs and public services was spreading far beyond the student movement that first mobilized last month.
“We see an aggregation of anger,” Murielle Guilbert, co-leader of the left-wing Solidaires trade union federation, told BFM TV. She said grievances from students, workers, firefighters and other groups were converging.