Tractors take to Paris as farmers stage food prices protest

Dozens of tractors converge to the rally point during a farmer protest in Paris
EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT
Peter Allen3 September 2015

Vast convoys made up of more than 1,000 tractors brought chaos to Paris today as French farmers protested against plummeting food prices.

The mass demonstration led to traffic jams stretching for up to 10 mile, with some roads completely blocked by the slow-moving vehicles.

Buses transporting some 5,000 farmers into the capital were also taking part.

Protesters blamed the Socialist government for their economic woes. “They’re not doing enough to protect us from the big supermarket chains and from foreign competition,” said Pierre Durand, a Brittany cattle farmer.

“As food becomes cheaper, we become poorer, and prices are falling through the floor at the moment.”

Commuters and other vehicles were warned by police to stay off the road as the “snail” convoys began taking shape soon after 6am.

They arrived via the Paris ring road and then headed into the city itself, towards Place de la Nation.

Pig farmer Dimitri Ducher, also from Brittany, said: “We are not giving up. I think the Parisians will support us.”

During sometimes violent protests over the summer, farmers blocked tourists from visiting Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, and dumped manure outside supermarkets.

Thousands of visitors to Paris were also caught up in today’s demonstration. One of the largest convoys was on the A1 motorway to the north of the city which leads to the Channel ports.

It is used by many Britons, who today had to put up with about 400 tractors and 20 buses hogging all the lanes.

The French government introduced a £500 million agriculture package in July, including tax relief and loan guarantees for farmers, but opponents say it is not enough.

Some 22,000 farms in France — 10 per cent of the total — are on the brink of bankruptcy, with a total debt approaching £1 billion.

A spokesman for France’s largest farming union, FNSEA, said its representatives would be meeting MPs in Parliament today.

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