Demanding Government Reform: French Farmers Block Roads in Tractor Protest
French farmers have launched a series of intense protests over the past week, demanding that the government take emergency action to address issues such as inflation, heavy taxation on farmers, cheap imported agricultural products, and soaring costs. On the 26th, farmers blocked a major highway connecting Paris with the northern cities of Lille, Benelux, and the UK. The several-kilometer-long road was blocked, causing severe traffic disruptions around the capital.
In addition, farmers dumped large amounts of crops and fertilizers on the roads, and deployed tractors to occupy town roads. Some farmers burned straw to protest, calling on authorities to take farmers’ rights seriously. Angry protesting farmers said that the current price of agricultural products is too low, and that excessive green regulation and the rising cost of non-road diesel used in tractors, combined with the problem of cheap imported products and soaring costs, have compressed farmers’ living space, and that authorities have not taken sufficient preventive measures .
France is the largest agricultural country in the European Union. Due to the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war, production costs have increased. According to a public opinion poll, 94% of the public support a ban on imports to create a more fair competition environment for local agricultural products. Protesting farmers said that if the authorities do not propose an agricultural reform plan, they will continue to protest until the end .
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