French farmers have announced Monday, January 29, as the day the indefinite blockade of Paris begins as a sign of disagreement with government policy in the field of agriculture.

The action was announced by the largest farmers' union FNSEA and the organization "Young Agricultural Producers" (Junes Agriculteurs). These two groups unite the majority of representatives of the country's agricultural industry.

“From 14:00 (16:00 Moscow time) Monday, January 29, agricultural workers from the departments of Aisne, Aube, Eure, Eure and Loire, Marne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Maritime, The Somme, as well as the Ile-de-France region, which are members of the branches of the FNSEA and Young Agricultural Trade Unions in the Paris metropolitan area, are beginning an indefinite siege of the capital,” the protesters said in a statement. 

  • Farmers protest in France

  • © AP Photo/Fred Scheiber

According to the activists’ plans, not a single food truck should enter Paris during the “siege.” According to the representative of Jeunes Agriculteurs, Maxime Buizard, the action will last at least five days. Against the backdrop of such statements, on January 28, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin instructed law enforcement agencies to prevent a complete blockade of Paris, BFMTV reported.

At the same time, Darmanen emphasized that the forces of law and order must act with great restraint, intervening in the situation only if there is a threat to the integrity of individuals, public and private buildings or property.

Domino effect

Let us remind you that farmer protests began in France on January 18. Using agricultural machinery, demonstrators blocked a number of highways in the country, stopping traffic and causing disruptions in the supply of food to supermarkets. Dissatisfied farmers put forward a list of more than 100 complaints against the French leadership.

“Farmers are dissatisfied with their situation, it is difficult for them economically. They are working at zero, or even in minus, so they demand a review of state policy in the field of agriculture, as well as some decisions of Brussels,” Sergei Fedorov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an expert on France, told RT.

One of the main reasons for the farmers’ protest was the rise in diesel prices, experts say. As France 24 TV channel notes, “this environmentally hazardous type of fuel, used in agricultural machinery, has long enjoyed government support in the form of tax breaks,” but the country’s leadership, as part of the implementation of the energy transition policy, decided to cancel these breaks.

In addition, farmers are dissatisfied with non-compliance with the EGalim law adopted in 2018, one of the key goals of which was to protect the income of agricultural workers. Among the reasons for the protests, according to Reuters, is the increase in imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, for which the EU abolished quotas and duties after the start of the SVO.

In addition, Brussels has resumed negotiations on a trade agreement between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc, raising concerns among farmers about future competition in sugar, grain and meat production. The fact is that foreign producers are in a more advantageous position, since, unlike European farmers, they are not obliged to comply with strict EU environmental standards in their work.

The dissatisfaction of French agricultural producers also includes new EU regulations in the field of environmental protection, which complicate the already difficult business in this area.

All these factors coincided with a not very favorable situation in the agricultural industry. As reported by France 24, in France the proportion of farming households living below the poverty line (17.4%) is higher than among workers (13.9%) and employees (12.1%), and almost twice as high as among the rest of the country's population (9.2%).

In an attempt to stop the protests, France 24 reports, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last week visited several farms and listened to the demands of agricultural producers. As a result of his trip on January 26, he announced the adoption of urgent measures that include the refusal to increase the tax on diesel fuel for off-road vehicles, increasing the amount of compensation for livestock enterprises where cattle suffered from epizootic hemorrhagic disease, as well as the adoption of harsh punitive measures measures against three agricultural enterprises that do not comply with the provisions of the EGalim law.

  • French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal talks to farmers

  • AFP

  • © ALAIN JOCARD

But the promises made by the prime minister divided the protesters into two camps: some of them, after the prime minister’s statement, decided to unblock the highways, while others considered the measures listed by Attal insufficient and declared their intention to continue protests. 

According to experts, similar actions are now unfolding in other European Union countries, including Germany and Italy.

“It's like a domino effect. In other countries, the reasons for the population's dissatisfaction are similar: there are many bankruptcies, manufacturers cannot withstand competition, they are dissatisfied with rising energy prices, and so on. Farmers demand the state’s attention to this situation,” says Sergei Fedorov.

“They didn’t accept Macron as president”

As analysts note, the entire presidency of the head of the Fifth Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is marked by major social protests. Thus, during his first term, France was shaken by mass actions of the “yellow vests”, to which the farmers’ movement has now been added. According to experts, this is largely due to the ideology that Macron and his circle adhere to.

“Macron follows globalist liberal theories and sets the goal of his policy to develop European integration and the green transition, which has had a detrimental effect on energy prices. This is one of the reasons for the protests,” stated Sergei Fedorov.

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • © AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

In turn, Pavel Feldman, associate professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, recalled that Macron has always had a difficult relationship with trade unions.

“Macron has quite tense relations with socialist parties, trade unions and the labor movement. They did not accept him as president; they are unpleasant that the country is headed by a relay of the transatlantic interests of the United States, who adheres to a strict liberal vector in economic and social policy,” the specialist explained in an interview with RT.

In addition, the situation that has now developed in the agriculture of France and a number of other European countries is also caused by the anti-Russian policy of the West, believes Pavel Feldman.

“The protests are caused by a reduction in the budgetary capabilities of Western states, and these capabilities, in turn, have been significantly reduced due to unfriendly policies towards Russia,” the analyst says.

In this situation, farmers also have the question of why the government does not have funds for its own citizens, but does have funds for Ukraine, added Sergei Fedorov.

“Of course, the situation with Ukraine also influences the protests. Farmers quite reasonably ask: if Ukraine has tens of billions, then why can’t there be a couple of billions to help its agricultural producers? There are no explanations for this,” the political scientist said.

Pavel Feldman shares a similar point of view. The analyst believes that “Ukraine became the trigger that led to the escalation” of socio-economic tensions in the European Union.

“Because of the Ukrainian conflict, Europe abandoned cheap hydrocarbons that came to its market from Russia. At the same time, to the detriment of their economies and taxpayers, Western countries are seeking funds for financial and military assistance to Kyiv. They withdraw these funds from national economies and redistribute them in favor of Ukraine. So it turns out that there is not enough money for our farmers, but there are funds to keep the Ukrainian economy afloat. This cannot but cause outrage among many people in Europe,” the political scientist said.

Experts also do not rule out that the circle of EU countries affected by farmers’ protests may expand in the future.

“Behind these protests are European trade unions, which have a principle of solidarity: if strikes start in some country and in some industry in Europe, then, as a rule, trade union partners from another country pick up this initiative and begin to protest too. Moreover, in the EU, the economy is built around common rules, which is why a problem in one country often causes difficulties in other countries. As a result, a chain reaction occurs,” summed up Pavel Feldman.