Farmers’ Protests in France: Another Hard Week Begins
France's Interior Ministry is announcing the mobilization of thousands of police officers ahead of a major agrarian protest planned for Monday in Paris and other major cities across the country
As thousands of tractors move toward the French capital again, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that 15,000 police officers “will be deployed to prevent tractors from entering Paris and other major French cities.”
The National Federation of Agricultural Experts Unions (FNSEA) and Jeunes Agriculteurs (Young Farmers) of the Paris region announced Saturday night that they will begin an “all-out siege of the capital” starting Monday, January 29. The action, involving farmers from 12 departments, aims to block all major roads leading to Paris in an indefinite protest.
High duties, low wages, and administrative difficulties have made it very hard to operate in the French agricultural sector. Moreover, French farmers, like their German counterparts, complain that the new European environmental and farming standards are too strict and expensive to enforce.
The mobilization of farmers in France has rapidly gained momentum in recent weeks, starting in the southwest and now reaching the gates of Paris. The peasants’ demands are addressed to the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. He met on Friday with some representatives of the farmers’ movement, announcing “ten urgent measures to simplify procedures” and the drafting of an agricultural orientation bill.
However, the main agricultural unions consider these measures insufficient and have decided to continue the protests. FNSEA President Arnaud Rousseau announced that the government’s statements “do not answer all the questions” raised by the industry. Tractors have since blocked the A1 highway north of the capital, while Rural Coordination, one of the rebel unions, seeks to block the Rungis wholesale market (pictured below), Europe’s largest and a crucial supply hub for the capital. Vinci Autoroutes, which manages the affected highways, called the situation “unprecedented.” Sections of highways, especially in the south of the country, were blocked for nearly 400 kilometers, causing major traffic disruptions.
French President Emmanuel Macron has instructed to ensure the normal operation of the Rungis market and Orly and Roissy airports, avoiding major disruptions. Armored gendarmerie vehicles were deployed around Rungis and the Roissy airport to prevent possible blockades. The same approach will be taken for other major airports and wholesale markets.
Although the agricultural trade union organizations declare an “indefinite siege of the capital,” Minister Darmanin has asked the police to “intervene only in case of serious deterioration of the situation or aggression.”
