Second day of blocking routes to Paris, the government under pressure

ER Editor: It’s hard to get a sense of what is happening with the traffic around Paris after the announcement to block it by farmers. There will be, of course, protests in other parts of France, but Paris is definitely the target of the farmers to make their point given the presence of Rungis market, a massive fresh produce market and the second largest in the world, with a massive acreage. Tweets below are from later yesterday. Below is an RT France report from today —

#blocusdeParis

#blocusParis

#soutienauxagriculteurs

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The tweets below show blockages going into Paris; importantly, taxi drivers have joined in —

Des #taxis en colère bloquent le périphérique parisien dans les deux sens de circulation. (@LucAuffret) #BlocusDeParis #agriculteurs pic.twitter.com/cHY2IuMHtz

— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) January 29, 2024

#BlocusDeParis:
L’A13 au niveau de Rocquencourt (sens Paris): La circulation est à l’arrêt complet. Les taxis parisiens et franciliens rejoignent les agriculteurs. C’est ça qu’on veut ! Partagez #Rungis#blocageDeParis #AgriculteursEnColere pic.twitter.com/ykO1o5WPpk

— Infos politique (@Mrpolitique88) January 29, 2024

❌ L’A6 BLOQUÉE ! Les tracteurs se rapprochent de la capitale. Au niveau de Villabé, un convoi circule actuellement sur l’autoroute.

❌ THE A6 BLOCKED! The tractors are approaching the capital#a6 #ResistancePaysanne #BlocusDeParis #Rungis #BlocusRungis #Frexit pic.twitter.com/D8n3Gr7IHC

— France Résistance (@FranceRsistanc1) January 29, 2024

« Paris on arrive »

Un convoi de tracteurs est actuellement arrêté sur l’autoroute A15 à une dizaine de kilomètres de Paris. #AgriculteursEnColere #BlocusDeParis pic.twitter.com/YIceUWpfJy

— AB7 Média (@Ab7Media) January 29, 2024

Les Taxis se joignent aussi aux manifestations des #agriculteurs.
Quand le Gouvernement va-t-il enfin entendre ce peuple qui gronde et n’en peut plus de son incompétence ?
Le remaniement de début janvier ne sert à rien : DISSOLUTION ou DESTITUTION !#BlocusDeParis pic.twitter.com/bBYw3rSTWt

— N. Dupont-Aignan (@dupontaignan) January 29, 2024

Les agriculteurs mettent en place un camp sur l’autoroute A15, à hauteur d’Argenteuil. Le siège commence.
🎥@LeMediaTV #BlocusDeParis #AgriculteursEnColere #SoutienAuxAgriculteurs #blocageDeParispic.twitter.com/Bh7AmuhzDY

— Casper (@zairker) January 29, 2024

Au niveau de Jossigny, l’autoroute A4 est bloquée dans les deux sens de circulation. Ça commence à peine.
🎥@CLPRESSFR #BlocusDeParis #AgriculteursEnColere #SoutienAuxAgriculteurs #blocageDeParispic.twitter.com/zN806oGaIH

— Casper (@zairker) January 29, 2024

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Angry farmers: second day of blockage of routes to Paris, the government under pressure

RT France

French farmers begin their second day of blocking strategic routes around Paris on January 30. The government has promised “new measures” to put out this new social fire and has begun to criticize Brussels for the import of Ukrainian products and free trade agreements with Latin America.

Demanding, like elsewhere in Europe, better incomes and, for some, fewer environmental standards, French farmers have been blocking eight highways around the capital since January 29 with their tractors, under the surveillance of police forces mobilized en masse.

The announced “siege” of Paris has so far not taken place, the Ile-de-France airports have not been blocked any more than the Rungis fresh produce market, the largest in the world, which supplies the Paris region.

A convoy of some 200 tractors, which left the south of the country, however, took to the road again this January 30 in the morning towards this market, which it intends to enter in the afternoon, at the call of the Rural Coordination.

“The convoys are arriving from all sides, it’s crazy!” exclaimed the co-president of this agricultural union, José Perez, interviewed by AFP. “It’s really very powerful what we are experiencing. The people are with us, we could see throughout the journey that the French love their farmers,” he added.

In total, more than a quarter of French departments (30) were affected by this movement of anger among the peasant world (ER: French expression), which threatens to degenerate into a new social crisis a year after the vast mobilization against the raising of the retirement age to retirement.

On the defensive, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, appointed less than a month ago, announced several measures over the weekend, including the abandonment of the increase in the tax on non-road diesel, without however convincing the main unions he received late Monday.

“New measures” will be taken on January 30 in favor of farmers, assured government spokesperson Prisca Thévenot. This new social storm should feature prominently in the general policy speech that he will deliver in the afternoon before Parliament to unveil the main lines of his action.

President Macron himself stepped up to the plate on January 29, bringing together ministers and giving “instructions” to prevent the entry of tractors into large cities so as not to create “extremely serious difficulties”.

Paris blames Brussels for farmers’ discontent

The Head of State will meet on February 1 with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen about the support measures expected by farmers. The exchange will focus in particular on the freezing of the controversial trade agreement that Brussels is negotiating with Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) and the arrival of Ukrainian products in the Union.

ER: See this we published today —

Perfect timing? Mercosur-EU free trade deal to begin, undercutting farmers

According to Politico , the Elysée blames Brussels for the discontent of French farmers (ER: making the case for Frexit!). Paris is now calling on the EU to abandon a certain number of measures, for example by limiting the import of products from Ukraine and returning to the free trade agreement with MERCOSUR, two demands of farmers. Macron plans to discuss the crisis at the European summit on February 1.

Four times fewer operators in 50 years

Extreme climatic episodes, avian flu, soaring fuel prices or an influx of Ukrainian products exempt from customs duties, there is no shortage of common factors of discontent in Europe.

Between highway blockages and tractor parades, agricultural discontent has already spread to Germany in December and January, but also to Romania, Poland and Belgium.

The new European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has strengthened environmental obligations since 2023, and the legislation of the European Green Deal (or “Green Deal”) – even if they are not yet in force – are particularly crystallizing anger.

Farmers have denounced a CAP, which they believe is disconnected from the field. “France is one of the only major agricultural countries whose market shares are declining,” pointed out a French senatorial report in September 2022. In twenty years, it has gone from second to sixth in the world for its exports – and to third in Europe, after the Netherlands and Germany.

“Food imports into France are exploding: they have doubled since 2000 and sometimes represent more than half of the foodstuffs consumed in France in certain families,” the study continued.

More generally, European farmers denounce unfair competition, in particular because imported products are generally not subject to the same regulations as in the EU. The number of farms in France has also been divided by four in 50 years: from 1.5 million in 1970, there are now less than 400,000.

Source

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