This aerial photograph shows farmers forming the slogan “mangez Francais” (‘eat French’) with their vehicles as they block the A6 highway toll of Villefranche-Limas, on January 31, 2024, in Limas, near Lyon, amid nationwide protests called by several farmers unions on pay, tax and regulations.
| Photo Credit: AFP
French police arrested some protesting farmers on Wednesday as convoys of tractors edged closer to Paris, Lyon and other strategic locations in France, with many ignoring warnings of police intervention if they cross red lines laid down by Ministers.
Farmers’ unions, unimpressed by concessions offered by President Emmanuel Macron’s government, encouraged their members to fight on for higher incomes, less red tape and protection from foreign competition. “You are fighting this battle because if we don’t fight, we die,” Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, head of the Chamber of Agriculture in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department, told protesters headed for the wholesale Rungis market south of Paris, a key food distribution hub for the capital. The government has warned farmers to stay away from Rungis and large cities, with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin saying officers stood ready to defend strategic spots. “They can’t attack police, they can’t enter Rungis, they can’t enter the Paris airports or the centre of Paris,” Mr. Darmanin told France 2 television. “But let me tell you again that if they try, we will be there.”
Despite the warning, a convoy of tractors that started in the southwest of the country resumed its drive towards Rungis on Wednesday after spending the night at farms along the way. 18 people were arrested near Rungis for “interfering with traffic”, a police source said.
