As part of a protest against the government’s agricultural policies, French farmers have driven a convoy of up to a thousand tractors into Paris. The two main farm unions organising the unrest blame stagnant revenues, the phasing out of certain pesticides and what they claim is unfair competition.
The tractors will remain parked on the highway circling the city until French president Emmanuel Macron agrees to meet with protesters, said regional farmers’ union spokesperson Elise Despiney.
By mid-morning, blue and green tractors bearing signs reading “Respond, Macron!” had advanced towards the southwestern edge of the city, taking up two lanes of the highway as police escorted them on motorcycles. They then stalled on the Paris ring road, where some protesters have pitched tents and lit fires.
The French presidency office said no meeting between Mr Macron and a delegation of farmers was planned at this stage.
Grievances
Farmers’ grievances include free trade agreements they say put them at a disadvantage, a government reform that failed to increase their revenues, and regulations they say hinder the sector’s performance.
Damien Greffin, president of the farmers’ union for the Paris region, placed the blame for farmers’ woes squarely on Mr Macron, whom he called the “instrument of these divisions” in an interview with BFM TV. He called on Mr Macron to rally French citizens to support agricultural workers.
The main farmers’ union has organised actions throughout the country, including a similar tractor protest in Lyon. Paris and Lyon police have advised cars to stay off the affected roads.
The demonstrations in France follow similar protests in Germany Tuesday, when some 10,000 farmers drove 5,000 tractors into Berlin to protest the German government’s agricultural policies. Farmers in the Netherlands clogged highways last month to decry what they said was unfair blame for nitrogen pollution in the country.
And in Dublin, farmers shut down busy parts the city centre for a second successive day to protest against low beef prices and climate change initiatives they say unfairly target them.
Source: independent.co.uk
