This Wednesday, September 10 will mark the day of mobilization organized by the “Let’s block everything” movement. An intelligence note, revealed by the Tangwall Campagin, mentions blockages of strategic routes (oil depots, airports, railways, Amazon, etc.), and actions attributed to the ultra-left likely to disrupt public order.
At the origin of “Let’s block everything”, Julien Marissiaux, 43, an entrepreneur from the North, launched his Telegram channel in May The Essentials France. Initially apolitical, he now defends a project called “Sovereign France”: Frexit, wage justice, relocations, citizens’ sovereign fund, dissolution of parties and dismissal of Macron. Multi-active, Marissiaux mixes his business (websites, canoes, community café) with his activism, reactivating the imagination of the Yellow Vests that he had not joined. Its communication, very critical of the entire political class, uses AI to caricature Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Marine Le Pen as “servants of the system”.
But if Marissiaux insists on the independence of the movement, it has strongly colored to the left: 69% of its supporters had voted for Mélenchon in 2022. From LFI to the PS, several parties show their support while swearing to avoid recovery, even if the rebellious leader openly calls for “block everything to make Macron leave”. Marissiaux, for his part, continues to affirm that September 10 is “extremely necessary” more than a partisan orientation.
2 – Annual State of the European Union Address by Ursula von der Leyen
On September 10, in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her fifth speech on the state of the European Union – the first since her re-election as head of the Commission. This annual exercise, established in 2010 on the American model, has become an unmissable event: it allows the president to take stock of the past year, set priorities and discuss with MEPs during a debate.
The context is particularly tense. The EU remains confronted with the war in Ukraine, and that raging in the Middle East. On the economic front, the trade agreement concluded this summer with Washington, imposing customs duties of 15% on certain exports, has sparked strong criticism despite the declared desire to strengthen transatlantic stability. But the speech will also be observed as a political barometer.
After the 2024 elections, the European Parliament is more fragmented than ever: if the EPP remains the first group, the conservatives are on the rise. Ursula von der Leyen is accused by her centrist and environmentalist allies of having conceded too much to the conservative right, particularly on the Green Deal. These tensions erupted in July during the rejection of a motion of censure, an unprecedented episode in ten years. The pro-European MEPs then recalled that their support was not guaranteed. The speech on September 10 will therefore serve to measure the president’s ability to bring together a hemicycle that is more divided than ever.
3 – Judgment of seven Extinction Rebellion activists
The seven Extinction Rebellion activists tried after a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris will learn their fate this Wednesday, September 10. On June 14, at Place de la République, they climbed the statue of Marianne to dress it in a chasuble in the colors of the Palestinian flag bearing the inscription “Free Gaza”.
Aged between 26 and 53, two women and five men appeared for “endangering the lives of others”, “rebellion” and refusing to sign – one of them also being accused of not having unlocked his phone. The prosecutor requested their release on the charge of endangerment, judging the intervention of the police “perilous but consistent with their missions”but demanded fines of 500 to 1,000 euros against three defendants for rebellion, some having, according to him, tried to bite or hit the police.
The activists, dislodged by a fire brigade after pushing back a ladder, contest any violence and denounce peaceful action. One of them described a “harmless action” and injuries during his arrest. The defense sees in this trial a political desire to repress the demonstrations, when the prosecution recalls that criminal law applies “to everyone and in all circumstances”.
4 – Decision on Alexis Kohler’s appeal
Tomorrow, the Court of Cassation will say whether the former secretary general of the Élysée, Alexis Kohler, can still be prosecuted for illegal taking of interests in the affair linked to the Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC. The appeal judges rejected his request for limitation, finding that he had concealed his family connection with the owners of the group. According to them, this “pact of silence” prevented any alert before 2018, the date of Mediapart’s revelations.
Alexis Kohler, indicted since 2022, is accused of having participated between 2009 and 2016 in decisions concerning STX and the port of Le Havre, both linked to MSC, while he worked at the State Participation Agency then at Bercy. He claims to have warned his superiors and to have moved away from sensitive matters. But justice criticizes the absence of clear written proof and the fact that he did not report this link to the High Authority for transparency in public life, nor to the ethics commission. If the Court confirms the appeal decision, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office may then request a trial.
5 – The good news of the day
The Weeknd will return to France in 2026 for two exceptional dates. The Canadian singer will perform at the Stade de France on July 10, then at the Allianz Riviera in Nice on July 21, as part of the extension of his world tour After Hours Til Dawn. Tickets go on sale September 12 at noon.
Launching in 2022, this grandiose tour celebrates the album trilogy After Hours (2020), Dawn FM (2022) and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), with a spectacular staging that helped make it the biggest R’n’B tour in history, already crossing America, Europe, Australia and South America. Three years after his last concert in France, the interpreter of Can’t Feel My Face And Blinding Lights will therefore find its French audience. An expected return, even though Blinding Lights has just crossed five billion listens on Spotify, setting a historic record on the platform.
