French government weighed blocking social networks amid protests
The gist
French PM Sébastien Lecornu asked telecom operators to prepare DNS blocks of four social platforms during unrest.
The restrictions were never activated, but the plan and a new removal bill test how far France will go.
How it unfolded
- Oct 17, 2026A mobilization day against the high cost of living led to severe unrest and over a thousand arrests, with scenes of violence.
- Oct 22, 2026A letter dated Oct. 22 from Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked Orange, SFR, Free and Bouygues Telecom to be ready to block TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and X via DNS filtering for "a few hours" in the event of recurring urban violence, ahead of the Oct. 24-25 weekend.
- Oct 23, 2026At an Oct. 23 meeting, telecom representatives reportedly warned that geographically targeted DNS restrictions on short notice would be difficult and could be circumvented by VPNs and alternative DNS resolvers.