French sugar beet farmers brought central Paris to a standstill on Wednesday as they drove hundreds of tractors through the city.

The ongoing protest is made up of approximately 800 tractors and 2,000 farmers with the majority centred at the tourist-favourite Invalides monument.

The farmers took to the streets to oppose a controversial European Union (EU)-driven pesticide ban. They say they must be allowed use banned pesticides on their crops in order to ensure France’s food sovereignty.

In January, the French government decided to ban the use of neonicotinoids, chemicals used to protect crops from insects.

The policy move came following a decision by the European Court of Justice which declared that EU member states should not be granted derogations from bans on the marketing and use of seeds treated with the neonicotinoids.

The pesticide ban has not been received well by farmers, with the Paris region president of the country’s national farmer union, FNSEA, Damien Greffin suggesting “French agriculture will disappear”.

The ongoing protests in Paris are backed by the FNSEA and sugar beet producer groups.

Farmers gathered in the early hours of the morning with their tractors before entering the French capital from the south.