Jan 29, 2024 at 12:43 Update: 13 minutes ago
Farmers across France have taken to the streets again to demonstrate against the government’s agricultural policies. This afternoon they want to blockade Paris by blocking the main highways. Similar actions are also underway in Belgium.
On Monday morning, about forty blockades have already been counted in France, French media report. This usually concerns blockages of highways or connecting roads. This afternoon the attention shifts to Paris.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and the Paris police, people in and around the French capital should avoid going out on Monday.
According to the planning of the farmers’ organizations, eight motorways will be blocked around the capital, including the A1 to the north, the A4 to Alsace, the A5 to Burgundy, the A6 to Lyon and the A13 to Normandy (in both directions). They want to keep that up for a week.
The police have mobilized fifteen thousand officers, mainly to prevent the demonstrating farmers from moving to the capital itself, French media report.
French government says it has ‘understood the message’
The French government tried to nip the farmers’ protests in the bud last week. For example, the planned higher tax on diesel for the sector has been scrapped. But the largest farmers’ unions don’t think that’s enough.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal made a special visit to a village in the south on Friday to declare that the government “got the message and that agriculture is the top priority”. Attal will receive the leader of by far the largest farmers’ organization on Monday: Arnaud Rousseau of the FNSEA.
Farmers find the prices for their products unacceptably low. According to the demonstrators, the energy and environmental measures are too expensive and there is too much bureaucracy due to EU rules, among other things. Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau wants the EU to adjust rules on fallow land (temporarily uncultivated fields) this week to help French farmers.
Farmers’ protests not over yet
Peasant protests are also underway in Belgium. Farmers are dissatisfied with what they call the regulatory burden from the EU. Hundreds of farmers have been out in Belgium since Sunday evening, resulting in numerous blocked highways. Agricultural organization FJA announced that farmers will not leave again until after the morning rush hour on Monday. But that has not been successful everywhere.
The blockade continues at the Daussoulx junction. FjA does not expect to leave there until between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Tractors have also appeared on Square de Meeûs.
Earlier this month, German farmers also demonstrated against their government’s agricultural policy. The biggest pain point for farmers there is that the subsidy for the use of diesel in agricultural companies will largely disappear.
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