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Protesting farmers on the A10 motorway
Photo: Stevens Tomas / ABACAPRESS / IMAGO
The French government has already made concessions to them, but protesting farmers have now announced a "siege" of Paris. From Monday, farmers in neighboring regions want to block all important access roads to the capital "for an unlimited period of time," as the chairmen of the two largest farmers' unions announced. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal promised “additional” measures to protect farmers from unfair competition from other countries.
For days, farmers in France have been protesting with road and motorway closures against too much bureaucracy, falling income and complex European environmental regulations. The protests were triggered by rising costs for agricultural diesel, similar to the farmers' protests in Germany. The largest farmers' association presented a list with a total of 140 demands.
Pressure on Prime Minister Attal is growing
On Saturday, some of the road closures were lifted and traffic on most highways returned to normal. But with the announcement that the access roads to Paris and possibly also the Rungis wholesale market south of Paris will be blocked, the pressure on Prime Minister Attal is increasing again.
On Friday, the head of government, who has only been in office for almost three weeks, announced that he would waive the tax increase for agricultural diesel. He also promised concrete measures to reduce bureaucracy and an emergency fund for livestock farmers to help them combat diseases in their livestock.
On Sunday, Attal announced "additional" steps to protect French agriculture while visiting a farm. He was thinking primarily about measures at national and European level to protect the agricultural sector from foreign competition, he said: "It is not normal that you are prevented from using certain products," while the requirements in "neighboring countries « be less strict.
svs/AFP