As of: February 4, 2024, 6:15 a.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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The farmers' protests in France are much more heated than the demonstrations in Germany.
There are dozens of arrests in Paris.
Paris – The images are different than those of the demonstrations in Germany: the farmers' protests in France continue to intensify.
On Wednesday (January 31), the police took into custody 79 protesting farmers who entered the Rungis wholesale market near Paris on foot and despite a massive police presence.
Farmers' protests in France: Farmers storm the Rungis wholesale market in Paris
Police said there was damage in a storage area.
The security forces have now cleared the area again.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin had armored gendarmerie vehicles stationed in Rungis days ago.
There was disagreement within the protest movement as to whether operations at the world's largest fresh wholesale market in the south of Paris should be disrupted or not.
The head of the largest farmers' association FNSEA, which is close to the government, Arnaud Rousseau, spoke out against it.
The French police tried to shield the Rungis wholesale market from the farmers' protests, some with armored vehicles.
© IMAGO/Baptiste Autissier
However, a tractor convoy had set off from the southwest of the country.
The left-wing farmers' association Coordination rurale had declared Rungis its target.
Security forces blocked the convoy about 170 kilometers away on Wednesday.
According to the gendarmerie, around 30 tractors had broken through the barriers.
Farmers protest in France: highways towards Paris blocked
Meanwhile, several major highways heading to Paris were blocked for several days in a row, causing numerous traffic jams.
The concessions made by the French government and the EU have so far failed to persuade protesting farmers in France to stop their actions.
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“The expectations are very high,” Rousseau said at a hearing in the French Senate.
“It’s also about things that can’t be sorted out in three days,” he added.
He reiterated his call for moderation.
In France, farmers have been protesting for more than a week.
According to government figures, around 10,000 farmers were on the roads across the country on Wednesday.
They complain about bureaucratic requirements, costly environmental standards and low income.
Government in Paris refrains from raising taxes on agricultural diesel
The government in Paris has already renounced a planned tax increase for agricultural diesel and announced aid for cattle breeders.
The EU Commission has meanwhile relaxed the regulations for a minimum proportion of fallow land on arable land.
In Germany, however, the Bundestag decided this Friday (February 2nd) to gradually reduce tax relief for farmers - despite the large demonstrations in advance.
(pm/AFP)