Organization and makeshift camp: a first night at a blockade around Paris
As the various blockades around Paris continue, organization is gradually being put in place. In Longvilliers, a makeshift camp has been set up with tents installed for the farmers to rest for a few hours.
“Everyone who stayed here will spend the night, we have tents, tractors, and cars,” says Florent Guilletot, a cereal farmer, to BFMTV. Further along, a buffet has been set up, and packs of water are available in fridges set up on the highway.
In addition to these makeshift camps, the organizers are asking for “exemplary conduct.”
“The goal is to get to Rungis”: the Agen-Paris convoy resumes its journey
Just before the blockade by law enforcement on the A20 highway, the farmers in the convoy from Agen to Paris expressed their ambition to still go to Rungis.
“Our goal is to go to Rungis and be heard. Our demands have been the same for 20 years, we will try to make them happen,” says Thomas Garçon, a farmer. According to him, the movement is peaceful.
“The goal is to be peaceful and not break anything, just to be heard and take concrete actions. The government needs to make appropriate decisions,” he adds.
“The first and last trap”: the Agen-Paris convoy bypasses the police barrier
A few minutes after being blocked by a police barricade, the angry farmers’ convoy, heading from Agen to Rungis, adapts. After dismantling the barriers on the A20 highway, the farmers were able to take the parallel national road 20 to continue their journey.
“They set a trap for us on the highway, this will be the first and last one, that’s for sure. We got past it, and now we won’t stop until we get to Paris. And beware, we’re telling them that it’s the first and last trap they set for us. They take us for fools, but we’re not fools, with them taking us for granted, things are going to go badly,” says a member of the convoy to BFMTV.
The Agen-Paris convoy blocked by law enforcement after leaving Limoges
After spending a night in Limoges, the Agen-Paris convoy in route to Rungis was stopped by three mobile gendarmerie squadrons an hour after leaving the prefecture of Haute-Vienne. A police barricade on the A20 highway at Bessines-sur-Gartemps is currently preventing the angry farmers from moving.
“This is an absolute disgrace,” says Karine Duc from the rural coordination of Lot-et-Garonne. “What is happening is shameful, we have armed riot police with significant troops and armored vehicles waiting to catch us. We negotiated and tried to ensure that the journey went smoothly, but we got trapped, we got on the highway and it’s closed. Where is the freedom of expression, the freedom to demonstrate?”.
Another protester on the scene affirms that the movement will continue nonetheless.
“Plateau logistics Lidl targeted in the Gard
On Monday afternoon, around twenty tractors took to the road to the Lidl platform in Beaucaire, Gard. After collecting refuse near the roadside, about ten men set fire to them. The symbolic action blocked access to the site for several hours, and work finally resumed on Tuesday morning. In the early hours of the day, the smell of rubber is still strong around the building.
The state of the blockades and demonstrations today
Angry farmers are commencing their second day of blocking strategic routes around Paris this Tuesday, determined to show that they can hold out for several days if the “new measures” announced by the government in the day disappoint.
BFMTV reports around fifty blockades and demonstrations across the country today. This is fewer than last Thursday, indicating that the mobilization seems to be decreasing.
Sarthe: demonstrations disrupt traffic on the A11
A demonstration ongoing in Connerré, Sarthe, has made traffic in the direction of Le Mans impossible on the A11. The highway is also closed at the Chartres level.
Is French agriculture really declining?
While French exports have been sharply increasing for the past two years, this is mainly due to the surge in global prices. The relative importance of France in global agricultural trade has collapsed since 2000. Once the second largest global exporter at the beginning of the millennium, the country is now only the sixth.
Valérie Pécresse anticipates “difficulties” in transportation in Île-de-France
An action of “undetermined duration” by farmers is looming around Paris and the inner suburbs. Farmers, unsatisfied by Gabriel Attal’s announcements, intend to put maximum pressure on the government by paralyzing the roadways leading to the capital. According to Valérie Pécresse, the president of Île-de-France Mobility (IDFM), these actions pushed by agricultural unions will have consequences on transportation in the Paris region.
Deployment of drones above Rungis authorized by the police prefecture
As the blockade of roads around Paris by disgruntled farmers continues, some demonstrators intend to approach the Rungis market and block this pivotal hub of agrifood in France. In reaction, the police prefecture authorizes the deployment of drones in the sky over Val-de-Marne starting this January 30th.
“Capturing, recording, and transmitting images by the direction of public order and traffic are authorized in Rungis from January 30th, 2024 to February 1st, 2024,” as stated in an order signed by Laurent Nunez this Monday.
Macron opposes the EU-Mercosur free trade treaty, negotiations suspended
Emmanuel Macron has called for the suspension of negotiations on the free trade treaty between the European Union and Mercosur, according to sources close to the French president. Macron will speak with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday in Brussels about measures to be taken in support of farmers as they lead a rebellion in several EU countries, including France, announced the Elysee Palace.
Farmers camp around Paris, government promises announcements
Farmers have started their second day of blocking strategic routes around Paris, determined to show that they can hold out for several days if the “new measures” announced by the government disappoint. On the A1, A4, A6, A13, farmers spent the night in their tractors or on a semi-trailer with a floor covered in straw, after initiating highway blockages near the capital on Monday afternoon.
