France protests: Farmers block major roads around Paris over falling incomes
Farmers argue they are being hit by falling incomes, environmental regulations, rising red tape, and competition from imports.
BBC
29th January, 2024
Excerpt:
French authorities say 15,000 police have been mobilised to stop tractors entering the capital and other cities.
Other protests are taking place across the country.
Hundreds of thousands of farmers moved to block major highways to Paris on Monday, as similar protests took place in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands.
“We can’t do cheap farming… we need to be able to make a living from our trade,” one protester in Paris told the BBC.
While farming unions have called the protest “a siege of Paris,” secondary roads to the city have remained open.
Farmers say their aim is to stop food deliveries reaching supermarkets – something officials have warned them not to do.
But police have also been given orders not to intervene, and there have so far been no signs of disorder.
The head of France’s biggest farmers’ union, the National Federation of Agricultural Holders’ Unions (FNSEA), Arnaud Rousseau, said the goal was to force the government to find a quick resolution to the stand-off.
