French farmers’ organizations want more wages and better working conditions and are threatening on Monday to block all traffic in and out of Paris.
Farmers across France have recently used tractors and trucks to block roads and create traffic chaos. On Sunday, several motorways around the country were still closed.
On Monday afternoon, an escalation is planned where the plan is to block the roads into Paris in eight different places.
The government has responded by announcing the deployment of 15,000 police officers who will ensure that the action does not paralyze the French capital, and that the farmers also do not manage to get into the city itself.
– We do not intend to allow damage to public buildings, tax offices or greengrocers, nor for trucks transporting foreign products to be stopped, says Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in a statement.
The farmers believe that they are subjected to many environmental regulations that do not apply to farmers in, for example, Italy, and that they therefore suffer from unfair competitive conditions. They are also frustrated that incomes and pensions are falling.
Belgian farmers also started a protest on Monday. In a number of EU countries, farmers complain that the EU is not doing enough to secure their livelihoods in the face of international competition and globalisation.
(©NTB)
2024-01-29 09:08:50
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