France: Paris blocked and farmers waiting for answers

The conflict with the field in France was transformed this Tuesday into a total siege of their capital. All highways around Paris were blocked on Tuesday. Some pickets blocked traffic completely, others blocked it only symbolically to put pressure on Emmanuel Macron’s government and also on Brussels to relax the rules for European farmers.

RFI special correspondent Nathanaël Vittrant visited the farmers’ blockade on the A4 motorway between Reims and the capital.

Around a large pile of pallets, the farmers who occupy the A4 motorway joke with each other, sometimes with the police. But this atmosphere of good humor It shouldn’t make him forget his anger.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s intervention late last week failed to calm the anger.

“They just gave up in one of the points of the 185 that we claimso this week we expect much more from the government and Europe,” says Christophe Parent, local representative of the FNSEA, the main farmers’ union.

Europe appears very often in conversations. French farmers want to take advantage of the indignation also expressed in Romania, Poland, Germany, Spain and other countries.

“Our goal today is Paris, but maybe then it will be Brussels’ turnobviously with the five or six countries that have the same problems as us,” explains Emmanuel.

There is an issue that worries farmers a lot. “We don’t understand why we have to stop 4% of uncultivated land (uncultivated) when for example in Ukraine a large part of the field is not cultivated and so on There are many cereals missing in the world. We also import much more than we export. At a certain point you have to say enough,” Emmanuel laments.

“The same European standards for everyone”, “Stop to exports without regulations”. The slogans emblazoned on the tractors are also a reminder that the answer to agricultural workers’ unrest cannot be found in Paris alone.

Parisian merchants accumulate supplies

Tractors and trucks try to block traffic, especially merchandise. The farmers They hope to block the supply of several citiesincluding that of Paris where citizens buy many fresh products arriving from the Rungis wholesale market where the arrival of a battalion of tractors is expected on Monday.

The Lebanese restaurant Vadime, located on Montorgueil street in the heart of Paris, is restocked daily in Rungis. This Monday there were no problems. But the boss anticipates any failure to deliver.

“We are starting to stock up on products because we don’t know if we will be able to supply them in time or if there will be shortages,” he explains to Stéphanie Parreaux of RFI.

As a precaution, you have placed an order one and a half times more than usual.

Not far from there, a local customer has just made his purchase. Currently, nothing is missing in the shop. And Loup Orseni is not worried.

“If we have to give up some fruit or vegetables, nothing happens, the important thing is that farmers get what they ask for. And that working conditions are easier for them, that the government listens to them.”

Both customers and hoteliers believe that if the situation were to get complicated, It will be more like at the end of the week.