The French farmers have been threatening it for several weeks. On Monday, they set course for the French capital with their tractors. The farmers’ organizations want better working conditions, lower taxes and fewer regulations, and protection against cheap imported goods. Hundreds of tractors were in motion. Over 55,000 people are said to have taken part in the demonstrations in recent weeks. 10,000 farmers demonstrated on Monday. “We will not die in silence,” reads one of the banners. – We need answers. This is a last fight for the farmers, said Karine Duc, one of the farmers on the way to Paris to France 24. At 2pm on Monday, 8 main roads into the city were blocked. All around Paris, traffic is disrupted. They will demonstrate until Tuesday. Here in Argenteuil north of Paris. On the car in the background it says “Our end is your starvation”. Photo: Christophe Ena / AP First crisis as prime minister After several weeks of demonstrations, the new prime minister met the farmers. On Friday, Gabriel Attal visited the demonstrators in the Haute-Garonne region. – We have heard you loud and clear, he said to the farmers. He promised that the French authorities would put agriculture “above all else”, and went back on abolishing the tax relief on diesel in agriculture, and wanted emergency aid for farmers who run organic agriculture, and to make water more available to farmers. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on a farm in Parcay-Meslay on Sunday. Photo: ALAIN JOCARD / AFP Attal also said that France should vote against a trade agreement in the EU which the French farmers see as something that will lead to unfair competition from South America. – We must tell all French citizens that if they can, they should buy French products, said the Prime Minister. The two largest trade unions for farmers nevertheless decided to continue the demonstrations. After an emergency meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, it was decided that 15,000 police and military personnel would be seen in the streets on Monday. The purpose was to prevent the tractors from reaching the city centre. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Attal will speak with representatives from agriculture on Monday evening. He will come up with more measures on Tuesday, after Friday’s proposal was not sufficient for the protesters. 15,000 police officers were seen in the streets to prevent the demonstrators from reaching Paris. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP Unrest throughout the EU The farmers say they are limited by the EU and French bureaucracy, and that traditional agriculture is about to collapse. Also in Germany, hundreds of German farmers demonstrated on Monday. Tractors blocked the road to the commercial city of Hamburg. They demonstrated against Olaf Shultz’s proposals to phase out the tax relief on diesel in agriculture. The French farmers have demonstrated for several weeks. Photo: SARAH MEYSSONNIER / Reuters In Poland, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands, farmers have started their own campaigns. The Guardian writes that Arnaud Rousseau, the leader of FNSEA, one of the largest trade unions in France, says that the demonstrators will hold out until Tuesday. Then President Macron will meet the Council of Europe. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right party Rassemblement national, visits the farmers during the demonstration in the French town of Radinghem. Photo: YVES HERMAN / Reuters According to the newspaper, opinion polls show that farmers have up to 90 percent support in France, but that private finances are also tight. This leads to the French often buying cheap imported goods. This will be an important topic in the EU elections in June, where several far-right parties hope to win voters from dissatisfaction with agriculture.
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French farmers block vegans from entering Paris – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
