French PM to visit farm amid unrest
PARIS — France’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was scheduled to visit a cattle farm on Sunday, his office said, as agricultural unions prepare to mount a “siege” on the French capital to pressure the government into meeting their demands on pay, tax and regulations.
The leaders of two of the country’s largest farming unions said on Saturday that members from the regions around Paris “will begin an indefinite siege of the capital”.
“All the major roads leading to the capital will be occupied by farmers,” they said.
Farmers from the Lot-et-Garonne region, one of the hot spots of the protest movement in southern France, had already announced their intention to “go to Paris” on Monday.
They said they will blockade the massive Rungis wholesale food market south of the capital.
French farmers are furious at what they say is a squeeze on purchase prices for produce by supermarket and industrial buyers, as well as complex environmental regulations.
But the last straw for many was the phasing out of a tax break on diesel for farm equipment.
Attal’s visit to a cattle farm in the western region of Indre-et-Loire came two days after he announced a number of concessions following blockades by farmers of major routes into Paris and in the south of the country.
“You wanted to send a message, and I’ve received it loud and clear,” said Attal, who is facing his first major crisis as prime minister.
Attal said the government would “put an end” to the rising cost of diesel fuel used for farming machinery, a consequence of tax breaks on the fuel having been phased out.
There would also be an emergency fund to help cattle farmers battle illnesses among their livestock.
Early on Saturday some roadblocks were being lifted and traffic began running normally on motorways.
But the latest announcement by the FNSEA farmers’ union and the Jeunes Agriculteurs, which together represent most farmers in France, puts pressure back on Attal.
His concessions have “not calmed the anger, we need to go further”, said FNSEA President Arnaud Rousseau.
Lucie Delbarre, general secretary of the Pas-de-Calais FDSEA branch, said, “We have a government that doesn’t care about its farmers.”