French farmers are to begin a “siege of the capital” on Monday 29 January, as they descend indefinitely on Paris in protest.

Intensifying their protest efforts from last week, the National Federation of Agricultural Operators' Unions (La FNSEA) said on X that farmers will block the main motorways leading to the capital.

La FNSEA, the primary organiser of the protest, said in a statement translated to English: “Members of the FNSEA network and French Young Farmers of the Greater Paris Basin will begin a siege of the capital for an indefinite period.”

Speaking on French radio station RTL, president of La FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau, said the tractor protest will begin this afternoon and the “objective is not to block the French but to feed them”.

“We are going to block the main highways around Paris from 2pm. When it is far from Paris, the message is not heard. We are not here to starve the French, since we have the honour of feeding them,” he said.

In response, the French government has increased police presence in Paris significantly.

Reasons

In a statement on their website last week, La FNSEA outlined the reasons for the protest as inconsistencies in regulations, the need for fair renumeration for farmers and reestablishing fair conditions of practice.

“A barrage of incomprehensible decisions continues to fall on our sector, in a context where farmers are already violently experiencing climate change on their farms.

“Current plans and standards are only part of a short-term stance and do not answer the following question: how can we ensure farmers, and particularly new generations who are settling in, the economic sustainability of their farm?” the statement said.

Concessions

On Friday, the French government announced concessions in the form of freezing tax on green diesel, reducing bureaucracy and quicker payment of CAP funds.

On Sunday, the government promised to make further concessions this week.

Also on Sunday, two activists threw soup at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in a bid to draw attention to the agricultural industry.

Last week, French farmers begun the current protest with roads blocked, alongside other protest action.

In recent weeks, large scale protests were staged by farmers in Germany, who brought central Berlin to a standstill.

Farmer protests also saw a motorway blocked in Belgium yesterday.

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German farmers bring cities to a standstill