Tractors block major roads in Europe as farmers begin 'siege of Paris'

1. French farmers are moving hundreds of tractors into place as a blockade of major roads, termed the "siege of Paris", gets under way
2. Similar demonstrations are taking place across the country as part of continuing protests against falling incomes, rising bureaucracy and competition from imports
3. Protests are also being held in Belgium and Germany, where tractors are blocking routes leading to Hamburg's port area
4. The French authorities say 15,000 police have been mobilised to prevent tractors from entering Paris and other large cities
5. Farmers say their aim is to stop food deliveries to supermarkets. "We can't do cheap farming... we need to be able to make a living from our trade," one protester tells the BBC
6. So far, the police have not intervened to remove roadblocks anywhere else in the country
7. You can watch the protests live at the top of this page by clicking the play button

With major roads still blocked, we're getting out of here

Sam Hancock

Live reporter

EPA

Many roads in and out of Paris remain blocked tonight by protesting farmers and their tractors, in what they've described as a "siege" of the French capital.

As we bring this page to an end, here's a look at how the day played out:

• Farmers took to the streets at around 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT) - they said their aim was to stop food deliveries to supermarkets and the protests could last for days
• They're angry about a number of things, including falling incomes, rising bureaucracy and competition from imports
• The French government has pledged that additional support for farmers will be announced tomorrow
• France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal sat down with farming unions earlier, but we've not yet heard what - if anything - was agreed

• There have been similar protests elsewhere across western Europe - the crossing between Germany and France was blocked by tractors earlier, as was the motorway connecting Belgium with Luxembourg

For the latest updates on this story, head here. And to better understand what's caused these demonstrations, read this.

Today's coverage was brought to you by Nadia Ragozhina, Ido Vock, Marita Moloney, Sam Hancock, Barbara Tasch, Alex Smith and Johanna Chisholm. Thanks for joining us.

No word yet on French PM's union meeting

Reuters

French PM Gabriel Attal met French farmers on Friday in Montastruc-de-Salies

We said earlier that French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was sitting down with union representatives at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

He met leaders of the National Federation of Agricultural Holders' Unions and Young Farmers.

We have no word yet of what was said or agreed at the meeting. French media is not reporting anything, suggesting that the blockades will continue for the time being.

'The Dutch government sets unreachable goals'

Anna Holligan

Reporting from The Hague

BBC

As we've been reporting, it's not only French farmers caught up in these protests. Ben Appledoorn is a dairy farmer in Woudenberg, Utrecht.

"I love working with my cows, this is my favourite place on earth," he tells me inside his 130-cow barn, explaining how he feels he’s being penalised for doing a job the Netherlands used to cherish.

Appledoorn believes that the Green Deal targets are unrealistic and put undue pressures on the agricultural community, which could eventually see it erased from the landscape.

He voted for the Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB) in protest against the mainstream parties.

"Caroline [Van Der Plas, leader of the BBB] doesn’t have all the solutions but she expresses how I feel," he tells me, adding:

The EU sets targets but the Dutch government set the unreachable goals. The countryside will be populated by people with a big house and SUV, it’s a totally different community."

'We can last at least two days' - protester

Farmer Baptiste Menon says that his blockade of the A10 road in the Paris region can last for at least 48 hours.

Speaking to the French broadcaster BFMTV, he points out that his fellow protesters are equipped to hold out for several days, including with a fridge, food and a barbecue.

"With all this, we can last at least two days," Menon says.

Asked whether he could hold out for weeks rather than days, he adds:

We are going to have to work in the fields before then, but with some organisation anything is possible."

Why Europe's farmers are protesting

Laura Gozzi

Live reporter

EPA

If you're just joining us here on this page, or need a recap on what all this is about, here's a quick look at why tens of thousands of farmers have downed tools, mounted their tractors and taken to the streets across Europe.

They were already struggling with the cost of living crisis and they have now come out in force to air their grievances, from the European Union's sustainability policies to the effects of the war in Ukraine.

But, across the bloc, discontent is often fuelled by anger with EU policies.

The agricultural sector has always viewed with suspicion measures brought in by the EU to revamp its €55bn (£47bn) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and make it more sustainable. More than 70% of that money is spent on direct payments to farmers as a safety net.

The revamp includes an obligation to devote at least 4% of arable land to non-productive features, as well as a requirement to carry out crop rotations and reduce fertiliser use by at least 20%.

Many farmers have long argued these measures will make the European agricultural sector less competitive against imports. They are also worried that inflation has dramatically reduced the value of their direct payments.

Could British farmers join the protests?

Malcolm Prior

Rural affairs producer

With a wave of protests sweeping Europe, many are asking whether British farmers will now also take to the streets.

There’s certainly no shortage of anger and frustration. The campaign group Get Fair About Farming says British agriculture is "on its knees".

Campaigners say pressures are mounting on the industry because of “unfair” pricing tactics by supermarkets, trade deals that favour cheaper, lower-welfare imports and a new post-Brexit farm payments scheme.

Meanwhile, they say, new environmental targets and the drive for net zero carbon emissions are bringing more red tape and less support for food production itself.

All this at a time when rising costs and extreme weather continue to hit farm businesses hard.

Get Fair About Farming claims its survey of farmers found 49% feared being out of business within a year.

But will this all be enough to drive tractors onto the streets in protest?

It was only last October when protestors blocked entrances to supermarket distribution centres to demand fairer prices.

Martin Fox, one of the founders of the Proud to Farm campaign group, says further direct action is “always an option” and is being considered by a number of groups “to get the results farmers desperately need”.

President of the National Farmers' Union Minette Batters has not ruled out protests. But she says they would “always be a last resort” because they could risk losing public support for farmers.

New measures for farmers tomorrow - French government

Back in France, we've just heard from government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot, who has said in the past few minutes that additional support for farmers will be announced tomorrow.

Following a government summit on Monday afternoon, Thevenot told reporters that the government's response would go further than measures already announced last week.

These included dropping a planned hike in taxes on fuel and additional support for farmers whose animals fall ill.

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Belgian farmers set tyres on fire

As we turn our attention to the farmers protesting over in Belgium, we can see that their actions are causing significant disruption for both domestic and international travellers.

Protesters from the Federation of Young Farmers blocked Belgian highways in Namur, putting a temporary block on a crossing at the E42 between Germany to France and on the E411, which connects Brussels to Luxembourg.

Local news reports that traffic on the E411 in the direction of Brussels and Luxembourg is now freed, while the E42 motorway appears to have been damaged and traffic remains stalled after bales of straw were set on fire.

Similar to their neighbours in France and Germany, Belgian farmers are demanding better pay and criticising their government over environmental measures and the risks they believe are associated with free-trade agreements.

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The Federation of Young Farmers block the crossing of E42 Motorway from Germany to France and E411 Highway from Brussels to Luxembourg highway in Namur, Belgium

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Bales of straw were burned on the road alongside tyres

Dogs and cards: The latest pictures from the blockade outside Paris

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Reuters

Getty Images

EPA

BreakingMacron to meet von der Leyen this week

In the last few minutes, the Elysée Palace announced that French President Emmanuel Macron will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday in Brussels.

The palace said the pair would discuss the agriculture industry and EU-wide support for farmers.

The statement added that the meeting would focus on negotiations on a free trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, a bloc of South American countries, rules on leaving some farmland uncultivated, and Ukrainian imports into the EU.

On Friday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said France "very clearly opposes" the signing of an EU-Mercosur trade deal, which some French farmers oppose.

While last week, Von der Leyen said "there is an increasing division and polarisation" when it comes to agriculture-related topics, and has launched a "strategic dialogue" between agriculture groups and EU decision-makers.

French novel appears to predict agriculture industry issues

Hugh Schofield

BBC News, Paris

More than one French commentator has brought up the novel Sérotonine by Michel Houellebecq, which five years ago made an uncanny prediction of the crisis we are seeing today.

Here is a passage where the narrator – a world-weary official at the French ministry of agriculture – tells his Normandy dairy-farmer friend Aymeric of the catastrophe facing French farms.

“The number of farmers has gone down drastically over the last 50 years – but it still hasn’t gone down enough. We still have to divide the number by two or three to get down to the level of Denmark or Holland.

“Basically what’s going on with French agriculture is one enormous redundancy scheme, the biggest scheme currently in operation. But it’s a secret scheme, invisible, in which the people disappear individually, each in his little corner.”

Aymeric asks: “But don’t you think there will be protectionist measures?”

“Absolutely impossible... The ideological barrier is too strong.

“So voilà. In my view it’s all completely screwed.”

In pictures: French farmers continue to block roads outside Paris

French farmers have driven hundreds of tractors around the outskirts of Paris as part of their protests against falling incomes.

Officials have warned the farmers against trying to halt food deliveries to supermarkets. Police have been given orders not to intervene, and there have been no signs of disorder.

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Farmers driving tractors take part in a road blockade of the A6 highway near Villabe, south of Paris

EPA

Police officers watch over dozens of tractors taking part in a demonstration on the A15 motorway near Argenteuil

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More from the A15, north-west of Paris

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A banner reading "Proud to feed you!" is seen at a road blockade held by farmers on the A4 highway near Jossigny, east of Paris

Could green policies benefit farmers?

Ido Vock

Live reporter

We’ve been hearing from some farmers who say that regulations on agriculture, particularly environmental ones, will “cripple” the sector and livelihoods.

But the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy argues that the proposed changes to farming practices will overall have positive effects on farming businesses, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the sector.

To achieve that, it says, for instance, that:

• Farmers should be paid to use practices which sequester carbon, effectively sucking it out of the atmosphere
• Farmhouses and barns are “perfect” locations for solar panels, the installation of which should be incentivised
• Farms could develop the use of renewable energy by producing biogas – a term for gas produced by fermentation of organic matter

In total, the Commission says that food and agriculture systems in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals could generate economic value of some €1.8 trillion (£1.53 trillion) worldwide.

For their part, environmental campaigners say that the changes are essential to preserve Europe’s biodiversity and reduce pollution. The Organics Europe lobby group says that the EU’s target of using 25% farmland for organic farming by 2030 will:

• Reduce nitrogen pollution by up to the equivalent of 25 million tonnes of carbon
• Reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from farming by 15%
• Increase biodiversity on organic land by a third

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

French farmers see the targets outlined as part of the Farm to Fork strategy unrealistic and expensive

Why the farmers don't like the EU's environmental policies

Laura Gozzi

Live reporter

At the heart of the European Green Deal, which sets out how to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, is a scheme called the Farm to Fork Strategy.

The approach aims to:

• Halve pesticide use by 2030
• Reduce fertiliser use
• Devote at least 10% of agricultural areas to non-agricultural uses (for example by turning it into fallow land, planting non-productive trees or creating ponds)
• Ensure 25% of the total EU agricultural land is used for organic farming by 2030

These targets are seen by many farmers as unrealistic and expensive.

The Green Deal itself also includes legislation aimed at reducing emissions.

Agriculture accounts for around 11% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions, so farmers will be very affected by efforts to reduce emissions. Already in 2019, protests erupted in the Netherlands over proposals to dramatically reduce livestock farming in order to lower emissions.

Is Rungis market a target for the protests?

One potential flash point in today's protests is the Rungis International Market - nicknamed the "belly of Paris", which supplies much of the capital's food.

We've already shown you pictures from outside the market, where French police have been stationed alongside armoured vehicles.

Arnaud Rousseau, who is the head of FNSEA - France's biggest farmer's union - told French radio station RTL that blocking Rungis was "not an option".

"We are not there to starve the French people, as we want to have the honour of feeding them," he says.

But not all farmers agree with the official stance of the union.

Earlier today, farmer Benoit Durand told French station BFM TV that "the main thing is to paralyse France".

"Parisians are going to be hungry. The goal is to starve Parisians," he said.

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The threat of the potential disruption at Rungis led France’s interior minister on Sunday to issue an order to the security forces to position themselves outside the market so as to “prevent any blockage”.

'Just impossible' to be a farmer in France

Bethany Bell

Reporting from outside Paris

There's a line of tractors behind me which is blocking one of the main motorways into Paris, near Charles de Gaulle airport.

We were driving along with one man who is here with his son-in-law, who has been driving a tractor. His son-in-law has a horse stables not too far from here.

He says things are just impossible for farmers here in France, and that it's very hard for them to compete with other countries in the European Union, which he says have lower standards.

On top of that, he was complaining about the low cost of food being sold and the challenge that the green agenda is posing for production.

There are a lot of police out and about here too, and what we've seen here is that the demonstrators are co-operating with the police.

But there's a great deal of anger from farmers.

There is certainly public sympathy for them, but there's also concern about the disruption that this causes, and an understanding that this may take some time to work out.

At the moment, there is a feeling that this is a difficult situation, and that the farmers are digging in their heels.

BBC

The roads into Paris blocked by protesting farmers

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Taxi drivers join protests - but for different reasons

Chris Bockman

Reporting from Toulouse

Getty Images

It’s not just big and bulky tractors causing gridlock. Taxi drivers have also joined the movement.

In cities across the south of France, including Bordeaux to Toulouse and Marseille, several thousand taxi drivers have blocked ring roads, city centres and access to airports and train stations.

Their protests are focused on the fees they receive from the health service for transporting patients for non-urgent treatment from their homes to hospitals. The government wants to save money by getting taxi services to pick up several patients rather than just one per car.

Taxi union leaders say they will continue to block cities tomorrow if the government doesn’t back down.

It's 'time for things to change' say farmers in Brussels

Reuters

As we've been reporting, it's not just France where farmers have been protesting on the roads.

On a motorway on the outskirts of Brussels a line of tractors can be seen completely blocking the carriageway, as farmers stand around drinking beer next to piles of hay they've set on fire.

It's "time for things to change", farmer Judy Peeters says, "we will not leave without being satisfied".

Another farmer, Jean Riz, says seeing protests start up elsewhere in Europe inspired him to take to the streets.

"We said to ourselves, well, maybe if we all get together, that we will be stronger in the eyes of the EU and and we would like the EU to take its responsibility," he says.

In the centre of Brussels, near the European Parliament, lines of tractors fill the streets.

Nicolas Abbeloos is one farmer stationed there. He says they "want to be heard, and to speak to ministers, to get them to react, because they are slowly killing us off".

'Do not give in to populist calls for insurrection' - union leader

We’re now hearing from one of the unions leading the charge in today’s demonstration in France, with the leader asking farmers heading out onto the streets to not “give in to temptation” by “degrading public property”.

“You are responsible business leaders, do not give in to populist calls for insurrection,” Arnaud Gaillot, the head of the Young Farmers union, said during an interview with French media.

The union leader also highlighted how people on “both sides” of the political spectrum have recently been trying to “take advantage" by co-opting the movement. To this, he gave a firm retort: “We tell them clearly: Stay in your place! You have not been able to resolve this crisis for years!”

Reuters