[France] Farmer protests move closer to the capital

In France, escalating protests by farmers moved closer to Paris on January 25, with tractors driving in convoys and blocking roads in many regions of the country to pile on the pressure for the introduction of government measures to protect the agricultural sector from foreign competition, red tape, rising costs and poverty-levels of pay for the poorest producers, The Register Citizen reports.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was installed by President Emmanuel Macron a fortnight ago. The farmers’ demonstrations - which include drive-slows, straw bale barricades and dumps of agricultural waste outside government offices - have become his first major crisis.

Now two agricultural unions have reportedly called for farmers to converge on highways into Paris on January 26 to blockade it.

Highway operator Vinci reported blockages on 14 of the motorways that it operates and disruptions on others. Other protests in the country included a supermarket being heavily sprayed with a pig slurry.

Benoit Mazure - a regional representative of the FNSEA agricultural union - said, “We’re hit from both sides with high fixed costs but low prices. You don’t need a drawing to imagine what our balance sheets look like.”

Protest leaders reportedly said that farmers would closely scrutinise measures expected on January 26 from the government in response to their demands before determining next steps.

“The determination is total,” Arnaud Rousseau - the FNSEA president - said. “We expect urgent measures.”

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened a discussion panel in Brussels to try to make positive changes for farming. The intention was to consider some of the complaints raised by protesters around the 27-nation bloc.

Farmers have reportedly staged protests in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania in recent weeks.

Source: The Register Citizen

(Quotes via original reporting)

In France, escalating protests by farmers moved closer to Paris on January 25, with tractors driving in convoys and blocking roads in many regions of the country to pile on the pressure for the introduction of government measures to protect the agricultural sector from foreign competition, red tape, rising costs and poverty-levels of pay for the poorest producers, The Register Citizen reports.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was installed by President Emmanuel Macron a fortnight ago. The farmers’ demonstrations - which include drive-slows, straw bale barricades and dumps of agricultural waste outside government offices - have become his first major crisis.

Now two agricultural unions have reportedly called for farmers to converge on highways into Paris on January 26 to blockade it.

Highway operator Vinci reported blockages on 14 of the motorways that it operates and disruptions on others. Other protests in the country included a supermarket being heavily sprayed with a pig slurry.

Benoit Mazure - a regional representative of the FNSEA agricultural union - said, “We’re hit from both sides with high fixed costs but low prices. You don’t need a drawing to imagine what our balance sheets look like.”

Protest leaders reportedly said that farmers would closely scrutinise measures expected on January 26 from the government in response to their demands before determining next steps.

“The determination is total,” Arnaud Rousseau - the FNSEA president - said. “We expect urgent measures.”

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened a discussion panel in Brussels to try to make positive changes for farming. The intention was to consider some of the complaints raised by protesters around the 27-nation bloc.

Farmers have reportedly staged protests in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania in recent weeks.

Source: The Register Citizen

(Quotes via original reporting)