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French farmers have deployed their tractors to shut down the motorways surrounding Paris. The blockades are the most prominent in a series of bold protests against the French government and the EU over economic regulations which threaten farmers’s livelihoods. Tens of thousands of police officers have been tasked with making sure lorries travelling through France aren’t caught up in the demonstrations, and that tractors don’t cause disruption to Paris’ airports or The Rungis International Market – Europe’s largest fresh food market. Images circulated online of lorries full of produce, tipped over and set alight by protesters. Monday’s protests were the start of a so-called “week of danger”, with similar demonstrations taking place across the country.
Similar protests have taken place in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in recent weeks. The EU’s new environmental regulations – including limits on fertiliser use, introducing ‘fallow land’ targets and aiming to halve pesticide usage – have been criticised by farmers who may be worse off financially as a result.
Inflation continues to remain an issue across Europe, further squeezing the cost of living of farmers forced to sell their produce in difficult conditions. In France, the governments’ now-abandoned plan to reduce agricultural diesel subsidies sparked additional ire among French farmers, putting France at the epicentre of the protests on the global lens.
It’s a bad start to a big year for France, with Paris hosting the Olympics this summer. The current scenes spark memories of the Gilets Jaunes riots in 2018. European parliamentary elections are also looming.
One politician capitalising on the issue is the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. He was on location at a farmer’s field yesterday declaring: “Even if it’s difficult, even if I get yelled at, I don’t want the flow of dialogue to break.” Attal was the face of concessions made regarding the diesel levy, and vowed: “We have decided to place agriculture above everything else.” Farming unions weren’t convinced. They said the moves don’t go far enough, and vowed to continue their week of action — a vow they made good on.
These protests are already setting the stage for others. The BBC reports that taxi drivers are similarly blocking roads due to fee rises, increasing congestion across France’s cities. If the Rungis is disrupted, something most major unions say they don’t wish to do, fresh produce supplies across the capital could run low.