Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Sunday he is considering “additional” measures to protect French agriculture, amidst threats of a “siege” of Paris by farmers who believe the initial announcements in favor of the sector are insufficient.
The anger of the farmers has subsided somewhat this Sunday, before reigniting on Monday. The FNSEA and the Young Farmers have announced “a siege of the capital” on Monday, while the Rural Coordination of Lot-et-Garonne will block the Rungis market. In response, the government promised Sunday a “significant defensive system,” and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal pledged to “move quickly” in response to the anger of the agricultural world.
Despite the lull, many roads remained closed Sunday, from Normandy to Gard, passing through Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Meuse. The situation may get even more tense with a planned blockade of access to Paris starting from 2 p.m. on Monday. “Everything is going to be organized safely around several strategic highway blockade points. There will be seven blockage points around Paris, all held by tractors and farmers,” said Clément Torpier, president of the Young Farmers of Ile-de-France, on BFMTV.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has asked law enforcement officials to implement “a significant defensive system” to prevent any blockage by farmers at the Rungis market, Paris airports, and to “prohibit entry into Paris,” according to his ministry. Security forces, including gendarmerie armored vehicles, have been deployed at the outskirts of Rungis. However, they are instructed to act with great moderation.
“It is out of the question that another accident happens” after the one that resulted in the death of a farmer and her daughter in Ariège, said Clément Torpier. The current situation is seen as a “week of all dangers,” either because the government does not hear them, or because the anger will be such that everyone will then take responsibility.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal unveiled emergency measures on Friday, including the abandonment of the increase in the tax on non-road diesel (GNR), increased compensation for breeders whose cattle have been affected by the hemorrhagic epizootic disease, and heavy sanctions against three agri-food industrialists not respecting the Egalim laws on prices. However, the president of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, found these responses “ridiculously weak” and called for a minimum net monthly income of 1,500 euros for farmers.
Farmer organizations in other countries such as Belgium, Germany, Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands have also expressed frustration with what they perceive as a detached European common agricultural policy. Farmers in Belgium blocked an autoroute in the south of the country on Sunday, conveying solidarity with their French counterparts.
