Angry French farmers stormed into a major Paris farm fair on Saturday ahead of a planned visit by President Emmanuel Macron amid growing rage over costs, red tape and green regulations.
Facing dozens of policemen inside the trade fair, the farmers were shouting and booing, calling for the resignation of Macron and using expletives aimed at the French leader.
Macron, who is having breakfast with French farmers' union leaders, was scheduled to walk within the alleys of the trade fair afterwards.
In another sign of how tense relations between farmers and the government still, Macron cancelled a debate he wanted to hold at the farm fair on Saturday with farmers, food processors and retailers, after farmers unions said they would not show up.
Tractors rolling, horns honking across the capital
On Friday afternoon, dozens of tractors rolled into the French capital, loudly honking their horns. One tractor carried a sign reading: "Macron you're sowing the seeds for a storm – be careful of what you reap."
"Some farmers will try to stop the president (Macron) from entering the trade fair," Jean Lefevre, who is a member of FNSEA, France's largest farming union, told Reuters. "And if he does get in, they will disturb his walkabout."
The Paris farm show is a major event in France, attracting around 600,000 visitors over nine days.
Farmers protests across Europe
Farmers have been protesting across Europe, calling for better income, less bureaucracy and denouncing unfair competition from cheap Ukrainian goods imported to help Kyiv's war effort. The European Union in 2022 waived duties on Ukrainian food imports to support the country's economy following Russia's invasion.
Farmers' protests, which have spread across Europe, come as the far right, for which farmers represent a growing constituency, is seen making gains in June's European Parliament elections.
French farmers earlier this month largely suspended protests that included blocking highways and dumping manure in front of public buildings after Prime Minister Gabriel Attal promised new measures worth 400 million euros ($432.56 million).
But protests resumed this week to put pressure on the government to provide more help and deliver on promises, ahead of the Paris farm show.
"We're still not being heard by the government, the measures are not enough for us," farmer Hugo Gervais said.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
