Peter Stevens – GB News Oct 25, 2026
France’s Prime Minister called for a social media blackout before another day of mass protests.
Nearly 1,000 arrests have been made, with around 70,000 French police officers deployed to tackle the violent unrest on French streets.
GB News was on the scene as officers fired tear gas at left-wing protesters.
It has now emerged that France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wrote to telecommunications companies, urging them to shut down social media sites before the violence unfolded on Saturday
Mr Lecornu said a “convergence of several protest and activist movements” resulted in the disturbing scenes seen in France.
He said individuals “took advantage of the resulting disorder to smash, damage, set fire to, ransack and loot”.
The French Prime Minister, reappointed by Emmanuel Macron last October, blamed social media platforms for the chaos.
He said: “Clearly, several social media platforms played a decisive role not only in the crystallisation and viral spread of unlawful slogans but also as tools for the operational coordination of violence during the demonstration.
Mr Lecornu, in his letter first reported by the French outlet Blast, urged four telecommunications companies – Orange, SFR, Free, and Bouygues Telecom – to impose a social media blackout in the event of “urban violence”.
The French Government wanted to shut down Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram as named in Mr Lecornu’s letter.
Elon Musk-owned X was added to the list after the letter was sent, local media reported.
France’s protests began as a student-led movement demanding further investment in the education system.
Pupils were furious about the lack of teachers and having to study in dilapidated buildings.
But the protests have now spread far beyond Paris and their original purpose – even Green councillors in the UK have encouraged those “inspired” by the scenes in France to join a march in London.
On Saturday, violent unrest hit Italy, Spain, and Albania, with arrests made in all three countries.
Protesters clashed with police in Turin, Rome, and Bologna.
Video seen by GB News showed police repeatedly battering a demonstrator with a baton as he lay on the ground blocking a vehicle.
Tear gas was deployed in Rome to disperse crowds, as rioters were seen running through the streets of Italy’s capital.
Italian police said at least 371 people were detained – and nine were arrested.
In Spain, a total of 100 people were arrested in Barcelona alone after hooded rioters looted shops and set fire to street furniture around the city’s central Plaza de Catalunya.
Spanish authorities said around a quarter of those arrested were minors.
And in Albania, videos showed one officer being set on fire after what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail was thrown by protesters calling for the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister.
Rioters set government buildings and banks on fire, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to hurl at police.