French farmers follow the siege of Paris.
According to the German newspaper “De Welt”, in France, the farmers’ protest has reached its peak despite the concessions given to them by the government. From Monday, French farmers want to block all the main access roads to Paris. The union has promised to “besiege” the capital and presented a list of 140 demands of the farmers.
In this way, despite the concessions of the government, the French farmers, who have been protesting for days, have now spoken about the continuation of the protests and the siege of Paris. The heads of France’s two largest farmers’ unions announced that farmers in neighboring regions want to block all major access roads to the capital “indefinitely” from Monday.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal on Sunday promised “additional” measures to protect farmers from unfair competition from other countries. First of all, he considered measures at the national and European level to protect the agricultural sector from foreign competition and said: It is not normal that you prevent the use of some products, while the requirements in “neighboring countries” are less strict. Is.
French farmers have closed roads and highways for days to protest against excessive bureaucracy, reduced incomes, and complex environmental regulations in Europe. A recent demand by French farmers, like in Germany, was to protest the government’s plans to cancel tax exemptions for agricultural diesel.
On Saturday, some traffic jams were removed and traffic returned to normal on most highways. But pressure on Prime Minister Atal is mounting again with the announcement that access routes to Paris and possibly the large wholesale market of Rungis south of Paris will be blocked.
On Friday, France’s 34-year-old prime minister, who has only been in power for three weeks, announced that he would forego a tax increase on agricultural diesel. He also promised specific measures to reduce bureaucracy and create an emergency fund for livestock farmers to help them fight their livestock’s diseases.
However, there are significant differences between the protesters and their demands. While some want to use banned pesticides again, organic farmers are looking for help to defend themselves against cheap foreign competition. The climate protection package of the European Green Deal also plays a role in these protests, which envisages a massive reduction in the use of protective crops and fertilizers. However, France’s largest farmers’ association presented a list of 140 demands.
French farmers have been protesting against government policies for a long time.
On Friday afternoon, they blocked several toll booths in the Paris region with tractors. In Narbonne, southern France, a fire broke out in an insurance building on the sidelines of the demonstration.
In the south of this country, several hundred tractors blocked two highways, which are one of the main axes of the country. In total, about 400 km of highways were closed, including in the area around Montpellier and between Narbonne and Perpignan.