Raquel VillaécijaParis Correspondent

Paris Correspondent

Updated Monday, January 22, 2024-19:37

The anger of French farmers, who began protests at the end of last week to denounce the conditions under which they produce, threatens to spread and is beginning to worry the French Government.

Last Thursday the farmers blocked the A64 highway, between Toulouse and Tarbes, with their trucks and tractors. This Monday they extended their actions to other areas and will continue them throughout the week throughout the country and "for as long as necessary."

These mobilizations, which at all times are peaceful, are in addition to those that have been going on for weeks in some European countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands or Poland.

In France, a combative country, producers have joined the indignation movement and since Thursday they have paralyzed the aforementioned highway and this Monday they have carried out more actions south of Perpignan, on the border with Spain, where they have blocked the A9.

The French Government has mobilized quickly, fearing that the situation will worsen.

This Monday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, appointed just two weeks ago, will meet with the unions to try to calm things down.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has for the moment ruled out intervening to unblock the roads, as this could further inflame the anger of the producers.

Some French media have already dubbed it the "green vest" movement, in reference to the yellow vest crisis, which shook the country in 2017, at the beginning of Emmanuel Macron's first term.

It started precisely with protests over the rise in fuel prices.

They began by blocking roads, but the actions, which in reality hid other demands and a strong feeling of social injustice, quickly spread throughout the country and left thousands of people detained and injured.

In this case, farmers are protesting for several reasons, such as the rise in the price of diesel, the complexity of the environmental and health regulations that they will be forced to comply with, and which "are expensive, complex and sometimes impossible to execute," he acknowledged. the Minister of Economy himself, Bruno Le Maire.

This has also been admitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fresneau, who has promised to simplify the rules and solutions for the sector.

They denounce, for example, that some of these regulations force them to produce less while importing products from other countries.

They regret that, due to low profitability, many farms are forced to close.

Behind this discomfort are also the old demands: the low prices they are paid for what they produce, and the rise in costs, especially for energy.

Bruno Le Maire admitted on Sunday in an interview that electricity prices will increase in February between 8% and 9.8%, due to the suspension of aid that was put in place to fight inflation.

"There will be actions all week and as long as necessary," warned Arnaud Rousseau, president of the federation of agricultural unions (FNSEA).

"You cannot have trade agreements (with other countries) that allow you to import products with production conditions that are not ours and demand from French agriculture production conditions that farmers cannot tolerate," he denounced.

French President Emmanuel Macron asked prefects on Friday to meet with the sector to listen to their demands.

The French Government is concerned that the protests may gain strength, but also the political use that the extreme right is making of them, six months before the European elections.

The president of National Rally, Jordan Bardella, has taken the opportunity to warn of the "anger movement" against the EU by farmers.