Since mid-afternoon this Sunday, riot police tanks took up positions at the entrances to the large Rungis wholesale market, on the southern outskirts of Paris, in the face of the farmers’ threat to indefinitely block supplies to the capital from at two in the afternoon this Monday.
After a crisis meeting, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin indicated that motorway blockades – a total of eight are planned around Paris – will be tolerated and there will be no forced evictions, while calling for “great restraint.” ” by all those involved to avoid violence.
15,000 agents will be mobilized throughout the country. Darmanin insisted that “the red lines” for tractors are not to enter the Rungis market or the interior of cities, to avoid incidents, and to respect the operation of Parisian airports. The minister also placed great emphasis on not attacking foreign trucks, expressly mentioning Spanish and Portuguese ones. In that case the law enforcement agencies would intervene. Darmanin hinted that the crisis could drag on for days.
It is doubtful, however, that “the important defensive device” announced by Darmanin guarantees tranquility. The mere fact of the threat of blockade of the Parisian metropolis has altered the plans of transporters and citizens, forced to take preventive measures to avoid being trapped. Also in Lyon, a blockade by local agricultural unions is announced. Depending on how the week evolves, there may be similar actions in Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
As for Paris, the Rungis market, located very close to Orly airport, boasts of being the largest market for agricultural products, fresh fruits and vegetables in the world, with 13,000 employees.
The vice president of the FNSEA union, Luc Smessaert, said that the protest has “an almost military organization” so that the “siege” (an expression used by another union leader) of the capital is a success. According to Smessaert, there is coordination with law enforcement and the public will be informed about blocked highways so that citizens “decide whether to take the train or telework.” The reality will be more complicated to manage.
The extreme right tried to take advantage of the climate of tension in the country to obtain political gain. If the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, tries to deal image blows with his highly mediatized meetings with farmers and ranchers, Marine Le Pen, three times candidate for the Elysée of the National Regroupment (RN), did not want to be outdone and stood in Radinghem. in-Weppes, in the north of the country, on the border with Belgium, to show solidarity with the farmers and rant against the Government.
Le Pen, who did not hesitate to get on a tractor, attacked “Macron’s Europe” for being co-responsible for the serious problems in the countryside. The far-right leader reproached the MEPs of the Macronist party, Renacimiento, for having voted for “the entirety of the free trade agreements.” “How can they declare today that they want to fight unfair competition?” she asked.
It is not easy for the Government to manage the farmers’ demands because some of them depend on European politics. The announcements made by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Friday were hailed as a first step but considered insufficient. In addition to containing the rise in diesel prices, drastically reducing the bureaucracy of permits such as those for water tanks, and increasing and accelerating compensation for pests, the rural world is protesting against massive imports. In the spotlight is Ukraine, accused of having invaded the EU market with its products after the Russian invasion.
Another central demand of farmers is to relax environmental regulations to allow them more fertilizers. French farmers and ranchers believe that the fight against the climate emergency cannot be done on their shoulders.
