Source: AFP
France’s top farmers’ union announced plans on Friday to block major roads around Paris, stepping up pressure on the government to meet its demands for wages, taxes and regulations.
Facing his first major crisis, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was expected to offer concessions on Friday as ministers try to keep discontent from spreading months before European Parliament elections.
The encirclement of the capital follows days of unrest on highways, as well as tractor convoys in major cities and demonstrations in front of government buildings.
Five toll stations on the main roads to Paris will be closed from 2:00 p.m. (13:00 GMT), including the A6 and A13 motorways, the FNSEA farmers’ union told AFP.
The A1 motorway heading north from Paris was already blocked on Friday morning by tractors and hay bales, causing heavy traffic jams.
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“We’re waiting for answers from the prime minister today and if we don’t get them, the movement will continue,” said Jérémy Allard, a member of the farmers’ union from northern France that is locked out.
“Maybe we’ll get some answers by stopping France this way,” agreed Charles Demeyer, an endive grower also from the north.
In the south, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) of highway were closed between the Lyon region and the Spanish border.
“It weighs on us”
Attal brought together the economy, environment and agriculture ministers on Thursday as the farmers’ movement reached new heights with major protests and blockades.
The rallies mobilized about 55,000 people, according to FNSEA.
The government followed through with “concrete proposals for simplification measures” to be announced on Friday when Attal visits the Haute-Garonne department in south-west France, where the first motorway roadblocks have been hit.
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In addition to Attal’s proposals, ministers will on Friday receive an update on food market discussions between supermarkets and their suppliers — designed to provide income relief to farmers.
Farmers have resented what they say is a squeeze on market prices for produce from supermarket and industrial buyers, as well as complicated environmental regulations.
Source: AFP
But the straw for many was the phasing out of diesel tax relief for farm equipment.
The tax on agricultural fuels “is a real priority, a critical cost reduction,” said Thierry Casemazou, who grows corn and green beans for a major canned vegetable brand.
“It weighs on us,” he said.
Others have called for binding minimum prices for their agricultural products, faster aid payments or an end to restrictions on pesticide use.
Some of FNSEA’s 140 demands could only be met with new legislation or difficult negotiations at European Union level.
Protesters also shone a spotlight on resented free trade deals between the European Union and food exporters, especially a deal with South American bloc Mercosur that is still in the works.
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Farmers charge that their non-EU competitors abroad do not have to meet the same standards on issues such as pesticide use.
The police are holding back
Source: AFP
Authorities have so far refrained from intervening violently against road blockades and other forms of protest, including trespassing or breaking into government buildings and food industry premises such as supermarkets and warehouses.
“There is no cause that justifies property damage or violence… (but) at the moment unfortunately there are farmers who feel desperate,” Young Farmers (JA) union head Arnaud Gaillot told broadcaster Sud Radio.
“The situation must not be allowed to worsen. The government cannot send a message that it does not care or that it is not living up to its responsibilities,” he added.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government still bears the scars of the 2018-19 “yellow vest” movement, which mobilized huge numbers of people across French society and saw ugly clashes between protesters and police.
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Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the farmers were not harming police officers or setting fire to public buildings — making a tacit contrast to the weeklong riots in the summer of 2023 sparked by the fatal shooting of a teenage driver by police.
Source: AFP