Thousands of protesting farmers appear to have ignored warnings that police will intervene if they cross the government's red line, with tractor convoys heading to Paris, Lyon and other French cities. is slowly approaching other locations.
Unimpressed by concessions offered by President Emmanuel Macron's government, farmers' unions on Wednesday encouraged their members to fight for better wages, less bureaucracy and protection from foreign competition.
Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, president of the farmers' association in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department, told demonstrators heading to the wholesale Rungis market, an important food distribution hub south of Paris. capital.
“You are fighting this battle because if we don’t fight, we die,” he said.
The government has warned farmers to stay away from Ranjis and big cities. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin has previously ordered police to act with caution and said police were ready to protect strategic points.
“They cannot attack the police. They cannot enter Rungis. They cannot enter Paris airports or the center of Paris,” Darmanin told France 2 broadcaster. “But again, if they try, we'll be there.”
Despite the warning, the convoy of tractors that set out from the south-west resumed its journey towards Rangis early Wednesday after spending the night at farms along the way.
In preparation for the food market's arrival, police forces with armored vehicles were deployed along the A6 motorway leading to the food market.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal praised the agricultural sector on Tuesday as “our strength and our pride” and told parliament he was ready to resolve the crisis, leaving the government scrambling to offer concessions.
But farmers said promises such as guaranteed higher payments under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy were not enough.
“Some of these measures will take three to four years to implement,” said Johanna Trau, a grain and livestock farmer in Ebersheim, eastern France. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Darmanin said 100,000 farmers protested on France's main roads on Wednesday, blocking 100 major roads.
In addition to advancing on Paris, the convoy was also attempting to besiege Lyon, France's third largest city.
In the southwestern city of Toulouse, protesting farmers tried to block a local wholesale food market but were cleared by police.
Peasant unrest has spread across Europe, with Spanish farmers vowing on Tuesday to join farmers in France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Belgium and Italy in their protests.
