In France, farmers have extended their nationwide blockades to the greater Paris area. Motorways leading to the capital were blocked at toll booths, as the agricultural union FDSEA announced.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wants to make the first concrete promises to the farmers who have been protesting for days this afternoon. Attal was expected in a small town in southern France, accompanied by Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau and Environment Minister Christophe Béchu.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire had previously announced stricter controls on the food industry and trade. It has been shown that manufacturers and retailers have been disregarding regulations in force in France since 2018 that are intended to ensure farmers a fair income.
Although they outwardly sided with the farmers, they then circumvented the law by moving purchasing centers abroad or declaring foreign goods as French.
Meanwhile, the blockades in France became ever greater. In the south of the country alone, 400 kilometers of highway were closed. In the evening, the agricultural associations want to react to the Prime Minister’s announcements and decide whether to continue the protests.
Extraordinary actions are also being prepared: In La Roche-sur-Yon, farmers announced that they would climb naked onto stacked bales of straw in a roundabout in protest, as the broadcaster BFMTV reported.
Meanwhile, a traffic jam caused by farmers’ protests in the city of Reims caused great distress to a young couple on the way to the delivery room. Out of necessity, the woman gave birth to the child in the car, supported by two municipal police officers and a firefighter, as the newspaper “L’Est Républicain” reported, citing the city.
