In France, protesting farmers began to block roads to Paris (3 photos + 8 videos)

Category: Fires and Catastrophes, PEGI 0+

30 January 2024

To prevent a blockade, the authorities are massing armored vehicles towards the capital.

French farmers are unhappy with rising fuel prices, bureaucracy and declining incomes. They were tired of enduring this and they staged a blockade of Paris. Farmers believe that at least now the authorities will pay attention to them.

About 2 thousand men joined the action and moved equipment towards Paris. Approximately 1,200 tractors and combines were brought to the city, they blocked 25 highways. The goal of the protesters is to prevent the supply of food to the city. And they intend to keep their blockade for at least 5 days.

We decided to change our methods and organize a blockade of Paris and its “petite crown” (consists of the departments of Haute-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and the Marne Valley in the Ile-de-France region. - RBC note). The Prime Minister did not listen to our requests. Of course, he gives answers, but they do not correspond to the demands and scale of the protest.

This will not be an operation lasting 12 or 15 hours, but an action lasting at least five days, which will make it clear to Parisians that they need farmers to live and that the capital is not self-sufficient. She needs rural areas. We tend to forget this from time to time, or at least the Prime Minister forgot about it.

I know this is particularly frustrating, but unfortunately it seems to be the only way to be heard,” said a farm union representative.

To disrupt the action, more than 15,000 police officers and armored vehicles were deployed to the protest sites. Now everyone is waiting to see how this ends. Some people think that it will be loud, while others think that the farmers will go on strike for a couple of days and go home.