“How long are we going to take?
24 hours, I think.
But hey… we have time.
We hope that in the meantime, the minister will make necessary decisions for the survival of farmers,” explains José Perez, farmer and co-president of the Lot-et-Garonne Rural Coordination, a few minutes before the departure of the convoy.
At the call of the CR 47 union, more than 30 tractors took to the road in the morning, from the Agen livestock market to reach Ile-de-France and block the Rungis market, where an important device, including gendarmerie armored vehicles, was deployed by the Ministry of the Interior.
A long road which will see the farmers pass through Bergerac (Dordogne) and Périgueux, before a break for the evening at a “base camp” near Limoges.
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The convoy, which set off at 30 km/h on small roads before taking the highway further along the route, was applauded by around a hundred people at its first stop in the village of Cancon.
At the same time, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers called for a “siege of Paris”, by establishing 8 blockade points on the highways leading to the capital.
On Sunday, the government announced that 15,000 members of the police were mobilized.
According to the authorities, the police will have to act with “moderation” to “secure” the blockage points around Paris and ensure that the Rungis market “can function”.