Farmageddon in Europe

 

Farmers across Europe are rising up against the EU, with angry agricultural workers in Spain being the latest who are set to join the growing tractor protest movement.

By using their heavy machinery to block roads in and around major capitals on the continent, farmers in Germany, France and other EU nations have expressed their anger over rising costs, EU environmental policies and cheap food imports which they say are leading to a deterioration in working and living conditions.

But as farmers in France, Belgium and Italy staged protests on Monday and Tuesday, and as Spain's three main agriculture unions said they would soon join them, French president Emmanuel Macron risked inciting further fury by brazenly telling the disgruntled growers: 'You need more Europe, not less.'

As Macron spoke during a state visit to Sweden, Spanish unions Asaja, UPA and COAG said: 'The agricultural sector in Europe and Spain is facing growing frustration and unease due to the difficult conditions. 

They also blamed 'stifling bureaucracy generated by European regulations.'

FRANCE: Farmers across Europe are rising up against the EU. Pictured: Farmers block a highway east of Paris in an attempt to 'starve' the city. Meanwhile, angry agricultural workers in Spain said they would also join the growing tractor protest movement

BELGIUM: By using their heavy machinery to block roads in and around major capitals on the continent, farmers in Germany, France and Belgium (pictured) have expressed their anger over rising costs, EU environmental policies and cheap food imports

ITALY: Dozens of Italian farmers also staged a protest with tractors near Milan (pictured), the latest in a series of impromptu demos that have sprung up from Sicily to Trento

GERMANY: Protesting farmers use their tractors to block traffic in central Hamburg

'Mobilisations will take place as soon as possible,' said Pedro Barato, president of Asaja, an association representing around 200,000 farmers and cattle breeders.

'The actions will not be very different from what is happening in other EU countries.'

The protests are set to take place in the coming weeks, the organisations said in a joint statement. Asaja members are due to meet on February 1 to make preparations.

Drought in southern Spain has hit farmers, with production of several crops such as rice and olives dropping over the past two years, but they also share the same as grievances as their peers in other European countries.

Those grievances were being played out across Europe.

Farmers set bales of hay ablaze to partly block access to Toulouse airport in southwestern France, and parked tractors across highways near Paris.

Dozens of Italian farmers also staged a protest with tractors near Milan, the latest in a series of impromptu demos that have sprung up from Sicily to Trento, with reports of convoys blocking roads now regular occurrences in recent weeks.

And in Belgium, farmers also disrupted traffic during the morning rush hour. One of the blockades was close to the Dutch border on the E19 highway, media said.

There, the angry protesters are also planning to block access roads to the the Zeebrugge container port, the port said.

'We are ready to block everything betrayed by Europe' declared one placard at the protest near Melegnano outside Milan. 

'Europe imposes rules on us that make no sense. We can no longer make a living... we want to make more money and have our products valued for what they are,' said Luisito Naldi, one of the organisers of protests in northern Italy.

'We're tired,' he told AFP by telephone, saying that things had become so difficult that some farmers in the south were committing suicide.

He said they were seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government to discuss the matter engulfing the EU.

Farmers block a highway in Jossigny, east of Paris

A banner reading 'Let's fight for our means of production' hangs from a tractor, as farmers take part in a road block protest on the A6 highway near Lisses, south of Paris

Farmers gather near a bridge with an effigy hanging from it where a banner reads 'Proud to feed you' as they block a highway

Farmers block roads with tractors as they protest against the government's agricultural policies and demand for improved conditions to support growth, production, and the maintain of a sustainable income in Brussels, Belgium

Belgium farmers throw eggs towards the Wallonia's Environment Minister Celine Tellier as farmers protest in Namur, Belgium

Farmers from South Corsica set tires and wood pallets on fire outside the Southern Corsica prefecture building in Ajaccio, Corsica

Farmers in France, who also want measures against cheap imports - such as Ukrainian grain - are looking for more support from new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who will spell out his policy plans later today.

'Whatever happens, we are determined to go to the end,' farmer Jean-Baptiste Bongard said as crowds of farmers huddled together around small fires on a highway in Jossigny, near Paris, blocked by the tractors in the early hours.

'If the movement needs to last a month, then it will last a month,' said Bongard, who took over the family business in July and finds it hard to compete with foreign producers who do not follow the same regulations.

A huge placard at the protest, 'Let's save agriculture', was attached to one vehicle.

In Longvilliers, also near Paris, both carriageways of the highway were blocked with tractors, and bales of hay, with other traffic being diverted up a slip road as a queue of cars snaked into the distance.

The regional prefect said that farmers had blocked the main access to Toulouse airport, but that people could still gain access via nearby parking lots. BFM TV said stacks of hay and tyres had been set on fire at a roundabout in front of the airport.

Farmers in France, the EU's biggest agricultural producer, say they are not being paid enough and are choked by excessive regulation on environmental protection.

The protests has been going on for more than a week, but have increased in intensity, leading up to an EU summit.

There, farmers hope their action and those of other farmers in Europe will grab the attention of the politicians focused on aid for Ukraine and the bloc's budget.

Monday saw the angry French demonstrators choke off major motorways around the city and threaten to blockade the French capital in the intensifying, while they said they intended to 'starve Paris' to get their message across. 

A farmer lies in a pile of hay after spending the night at a highway barricade in Aix-en-Provence, southern France

Farmers have lunch on the A20 highway near Saint-Maur

Protesting farmers blocking the A10 motorway mingle with food at their makeshift camp

Boxes of wine and barbecue food are seen in the farmer's make-shift Paris camp

Protesting farmers block the A10 motorway with tractors during a protest against taxation and declining income near Longvilliers, south of Paris, France

French farmers block a highway with their tractors during a protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Longvilliers, near Paris, France

Overnight, demonstrators were allowed to spend the night under motorway bridges, where they set fire to bales of hay and any foreign produce they could get their hands on, while some were pictured sleeping in their tractors.

As night fell and the cold set in, the farmers kept warm around their makeshift bonfires and barbecues, and cooked meat while sipping on boxed wine and beer.

Today, as dawn broke over the French capital, the farmers roused from their camps dotted around the city - cold and with sore heads - determined to press on.

Their first target of the day was the Rungis International Market, the largest fresh food market in Europe, situated south of the capital. 

However, as they rolled towards it, protesters were met with French riot police.

A blockade of the market would have caused chaos to the city's food supply, which can last for three days before crisis shortages are announced. 

But that is not an issue for some of the more extreme farmers, who have said they want to cause as much suffering as possible for the people of Paris to drive their message all the way to the Élysée Palace.

'The goal is to starve Parisians. That's it,' said grain farmer Benoit Durand, who is part of the trade union-led protest movement.

But officers used their vehicles including gendarmerie armoured cars to stop the convoy reaching Rungis - the so called 'Belly of Paris' - while leaving tractor blocks at eight major routes into the city undisturbed.

'Rungis is a red line, along with the city airports,' said a police spokesman. 

'A convoy heading up from the south west was stopped twice this morning, and it will not be reaching Rungis,' they added.

Protesting farmers started the operation by blocking the A13 highway to the west of the capital, the A4 to the east and the A6 on which hundreds of tractors rolled towards Paris from the south.

By mid afternoon they appeared to have met their objective of establishing eight choke points on major roads into Paris, according to a traffic monitoring service.

'We need answers,' said Karine Duc, a farmer from the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department as she joined a convoy of tractors heading for Paris.

'This is the final battle for farming. It's a question of survival,' she told AFP.

One banner on a tractor in the convoy said: 'We will not die in silence.' 

Monday saw the angry demonstrators choke off major motorways around the city and threaten to blockade the French capital in an intensifying standoff with the government over working conditions, incomes, red tape and environmental policies

Demonstrators were allowed to spend the night under motorway bridges, where they set fire to bales of hay and any foreign produce they could get their hands on, while some were pictured sleeping in their tractors

French farmers started their tractors this morning for another day of protests, saying they would 'stave Paris' after triumphantly feasting on wine and sausages overnight

French farmers spend the night on the A4 highway, and mingle underneath an effigy hanging from the overpass above

Farmers keep warm near a fire as they continue blocking the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

A pair of farmers are seen early in the morning after spending the night in the blockade

A protesting farmer barbecues sausages at the farmer's camp overnight

Protesting farmers grill sausages on a barbecue on the A10 motorway near Paris

French farmers drive their tractors into the Paris region on the A16 motorway near Chamblis

Farmers gather as they block with their tractors the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

Tractors are lined up during a blockade by farmers on the A4 highway to protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances that are shared by farmers across Europe, in Jossigny, near Paris, France

Farmers gather as they block with their tractors the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

In response, the government has ordered the deployment of 15,000 police and gendarmes, but are as of yet unwilling to stop the protests outright.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has told security forces to show restraint.

Armoured police vehicles were deployed to Rungis after some farmers threatened to 'occupy' it. Police and gendarmes are also under orders to prevent any incursion into Paris itself, Darmanin said.

Macron has offered a series of concessions to the French farmers. 

These include abandoning a planned increase in diesel fuel duties.

The government has been trying to keep discontent among farmers from spreading ahead of European Parliament elections in June, which are seen as a key test for President Emmanuel Macron's government. 

Farmer leaders said the government's responses so far were insufficient.

French farmers of the CR47 union (Coordination rurale 47) block the A16 highway near Beauvais

French farmers block a highway with their tractors, hay bales and tents, during a protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Longvilliers, near Paris, France

Farmers block with their tractors the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

Farmers coming from eastern France with a tractor displaying a message which reads as 'Produce or Die, block the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

French farmers of the CR47 union (Coordination rurale 47), including one with a banner reading 'No country without a farmer', arrive at the toll station of Ablainville on the A16 highway

Farmers block with their tractors the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

French farmers of the CR47 union (Coordination rurale 47) arrive at the toll station of Ablainville on the A16 highway

Farmers roll down a motorway east of Paris as they continue to blockade the city

Wood is stacked on the road during the blockade by farmers on Paris's A4 highway, to protest over price pressures, taxes and green regulation - grievances that are shared by farmers across Europe

French farmers drive tractors to take part in road block protests on the A6 highway near Ormoy, south of Paris

The vote of Marine Le Pen's National Rally is 10 points ahead of Mr Macron's Rennaissance Party, according to opinion polls.

She has offered full backing to the farms, saying she will prioritise French food for the French if she becomes president in 2027.

In the meantime the National Rally is expected to make significant gains in European Parliament elections in June.

France is not the only country facing farmer protests. Thousands of farmers across Europe are complaining about a lack of support for their industry.

In recent weeks, farmers in Germany, Poland and Romania have also demonstrated over what they call excessive red tape, high fuel costs and unfair competition resulting from liberal European Union trade policies. 

This has led to increasingly drastic measures, as the agricultural workers complain about increased suicide rates and farms going out of business.

Meanwhile, Belgian farmers are planning to block access roads to the Zeebrugge container port in Belgium, financial daily De Tijd reported.

The protesters plan to bar access to the North Sea port, the country's second largest.

Farmers also disrupted traffic close to the Dutch border on the E19 highway on Tuesday morning, with a tractor convoy heading towards the port city of Antwerp, state broadcaster RTBF said.

Protesting farmers block the A10 motorway with tractors during a protest against taxation and declining income near Longvilliers, south of Paris, France

The Belgian protest movement was boosted by the similar outrage in France.

Belgian farmers blocked highways in southern Belgium and parked tractors near to the EU Parliament in Brussels.

A group of farmers blocked a square in central Brussels with tractors. 

'We are asking them to review their laws,' said Nicolas Fryers, a farmer at the protest. 'They talk about being greener but if that happens then there will be land which isn't worked any more and it's difficult enough as it is.' 

As more and more countries join the protests, France said it would push its EU peers to agree to ease regulations on fallow farmland. The EU introduced these to tie its farming subsidies to more environmentally-friendly practices.

The rules on fallow land were part of the grievances that have led to protests by angry farmers in France, Belgium and elsewhere in recent weeks.

A rooster walks on the A4 motorway during a blockade at Jossigny, east of Paris