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French farmers vow to put Paris ‘under siege’ in tractor protest

Philip Case 29 January 2024
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© Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo© Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo

Angry French farmers are threatening to put Paris under siege with tractor barricades and drive-slows as part of mass protests against their government’s anti-farming policies.

France’s two biggest farming unions – the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (Jeunes Agriculteurs) union say they are planning to block all major roads into the capital city and place it “under siege” for an indefinite period.

In response, the French government plans to mobilise 15,000 police and paramilitary gendarmes, with interior minister Gerald Darmanin asking the forces to “show moderation”. But they are under orders to prevent any incursion into Paris itself.

See also: Protesting French farmers head for Paris in tractors

French farmers will launch a second week of mass protests on Monday 29 January, only this time they will be focusing their efforts on Paris.

They will establish eight “choke points” around the major arterial routes into the capital from 2pm (1pm GMT) on Monday. Similar farmer-led protests are taking part across the country.

Quentin Le Guillous, general secretary of the Young Farmers union, told the French television channel RMC that all the farmers who will be taking part in the protests have work to do on their farms, but the idea is to travel when it suits them and towards the end of the week.

Mr Guillous said: “Some of them [farmers] are really gutsy. We have been talking about this issue with the government for several months.

“We have got farmers who have been outside for quite a while. We have had blockades on the A10 motorway. Some farmers have been sleeping outside for three days… the boys are starting to get a little bit on edge.

“There’s lots going on in the media and on social media. They hear everything. Today, we need to come together quickly. The objective is to get them all together, co-ordinate everything together and be effective.”

Discontent has been spreading for months among French farmers and elsewhere across continental Europe, including the Netherlands and Germany, where farmers have also held mass protests against their governments.

Farmers ‘fed-up’

French farmers are “fed-up” with their conditions, including low farmgate prices, rising costs, foreign imports displacing their own produce, excessive regulation and environmental taxes.

Frustration among farmers in France has been building for months, but the protests are said to have taken president Emmanuel Macron by surprise.

France’s agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, has promised his government will announce new measures for the agriculture sector from Tuesday 30 January onwards.

The French government has already dropped plans to gradually reduce tax breaks on red diesel for agricultural use, but farming unions say the government must go further.

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