France: clashes break out at the Agricultural Show, opening delayed
Dozens of demonstrators forced a gate and clashed with security inside the Agricultural Show, Saturday, February 24 in Paris early in the morning, while the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is arrived on site to meet unions and, then, attempt to officially inaugurate the event under heavy police presence.
The opening to the public, scheduled for 9 a.m., was delayed by the organizers.
Clashes broke out before the opening of the Paris Agricultural Show on February 24, 2024, after demonstrators forced entry to the premises.
AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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The 60th edition of the International Agricultural Show begins in confusion.
While Emmanuel Macron arrived at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center around 8 a.m. (7 a.m. UT) this Saturday, February 24, on the first day of the event, demonstrators entered the premises without being searched before official opening.
Among them, exasperated farmers from Rural Coordination, the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers' Unions) and Young Farmers, recognizable by their flags and distinctive caps.
Looking for the President of the Republic in the aisles, they came to blows with the police who were trying to stop them, and blows were exchanged, according to AFP journalists.
Many CRS were deployed inside and the demonstrators were contained, but the whistles and boos were deafening.
“
Give it back!”
», “
Macron resignation!
», We could hear in the ranks of the demonstrators.
“
The hunt for Macron is on!
» chanted activists from the majority union FNSEA.
Read also Agricultural Show in France: tensions between the executive and the farming world
The opening of the show delayed
At the same time, the president was elsewhere in the living room, safe, around a table to meet with union officials.
In the early morning, the president of the FNSEA declared that he wanted to “
listen to what the president has to tell us in a form of respect for the framework
”.
This “
risks sometimes being a little tense
,” added the union official, also chairman of the board of directors of the industrial giant Avril.
“
We are waiting for very clear answers, a very clear vision.
He has all the keys in hand to provide answers.
It’s up to him to play, it’s up to him to give this agriculture a real direction
,” added his counterpart from the allied Young Farmers union, Arnaud Gaillot.
Members of the FNSEA and the JA spent the night on the esplanade in front of the exhibition center.
Some slept on straw, others in buses.
The organizers of the show initially announced that the opening to the public would take place as planned at 9 a.m., with parts closed to the public.
But shortly after 9:10 a.m., the organizers announced “delayed” the opening of the show, without giving a timetable.
Also read: The agricultural show: a little-studied media and political ritual
(
With AFP
)
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