French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has reportedly asked telecom operators to be ready to restrict social media access, including TikTok and Instagram, during demonstrations.

Two days before the October 24 demonstration, Lecornu asked Orange, SFR, Free, and Bouygues Telecom to be ready to block access to TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and X, according to French online outlet Blast.

Lecornu sent a letter on Thursday to the heads of the four major telecom operators, asking them to be prepared to temporarily block access to the platforms in the event of possible “urban violence.”

The prime minister wrote that he wanted to have the power to temporarily suspend access to these services.

The government justified its request by citing the demonstrations on October 17, which continued on October 18. According to the prime minister’s office, several social media platforms played a role in the events.

On Friday, a 70-minute videoconference brought together the General Secretariat of the Government, the prime minister’s office, the Directorate General for Enterprises, and the legal departments of the four telecom operators.

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The operators expressed concerns about the government’s request, saying they lacked the capacity to implement the measures in the short term and warning that the restrictions would not be effective as people might use VPN or alternative messaging services to circumvent the block.

The French government has restricted social media during protests before. In May 2024, protests broke out in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the southwest Pacific. The protests led to a block on TikTok. The ban was lifted on May 29.

Nearly 1,000 people were arrested during Saturday’s protests in France. The government said 410,000 protesters marched across the country, compared with an estimate of nearly 800,000.

In Paris, at least 110,000 people marched, according to government estimates. They supported high schoolers, protested the high cost of living and the government’s heavy policing, saying police targeted school protesters over the past month, instead of the government offering political solutions.

The demonstrations in France began last month, with high school students protesting teacher shortages and dilapidated facilities. The movement subsequently expanded to include other groups protesting the high cost of living and France’s economic challenges.