Farmers move to besiege Paris in bid to win govt concessions

PARIS - France's top farmers' union on Friday began blockading major routes into Paris, upping the pressure on the government to respond to their demands on pay, tax and regulations.

Facing his first major crisis, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was expected to offer concessions on Friday as ministers scramble to keep discontent from spreading months ahead of European Parliament elections.

The government would present "an array of responses" to farmers' grievances, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said.

With Attal expected to speak at around 4:30 pm (1530 GMT), the FNSEA farmers' union gave itself until 8:00 pm to respond after consulting with its members.

The encirclement of the capital follows days of disruption on motorways as well as tractor convoys through major cities and protests in front of government buildings.

Five toll stations on major road arteries into Paris would be blocked from 2:00 pm (1300 GMT), the FNSEA told AFP, with protesters on the A10 motorway west of Paris hanging an effigy of a farmer in overalls from  a mock gallows.

The A1 motorway heading north from Paris was blocked from Friday morning by tractors and hay bales, causing big jams.

In the south, around 400 kilometres (250 miles) of motorway were shut between the Lyon region and the Spanish border.

"We've already been demonstrating for a week and we still have no answers. We don't want any more words, we want acts," said Sebastien, a 21-year-old farmer at a blockade slowing traffic around the Blagnac airport outside Toulouse.

- 'Weighing us down' -

Attal gathered his economy, environment and agriculture ministers on Thursday, as the farmers' movement reached new heights with major protests and blockades.

The rallies mobilised around 55,000 people, according to the FNSEA.

The prime minister will announce his measures on a visit to a cattle farm in the Haute-Garonne department in southwest France, scene of the first motorway roadblocks.

Fesneau on Friday warned food manufacturers and supermarkets that they could face fines if they fail to obey laws on farmers' pay, after receiving an update on purchasing talks between retailers and their suppliers.

"We need operators who are economically responsible and patriotic about French agriculture," the minister said.

Farmers have fumed at what they say is a squeeze on purchase prices for produce by supermarket and industrial buyers, as well as complex environmental regulations.

But the last straw for many was the phasing out of a tax break on diesel for farm equipment.

The agricultural fuel tax "is a real priority, a crucial cost reduction," said Thierry Cazemajou, who grows corn and green beans for a major canned-vegetables brand.

"It's weighing us down," he said.

Others have called for binding minimum prices for their farm produce, speedier aid payouts or a pause on restrictions on pesticide use.

Some of the FNSEA's 140 demands could only be met with new legislation or tricky negotiations at the European Union level.

Demonstrators have also thrown a spotlight on resented free trade agreements between the European Union and food exporters, especially a deal with South American bloc Mercosur that is still in the works.

Farmers charge that their non-EU competitors abroad do not have to meet the same standards on issues such as pesticide use.

- Police holding back -

The authorities have so far held back from intervening by force against road blockades and other forms of protest, including defacement or break-ins at government buildings and food industry sites such as supermarkets and warehouses.

On Friday, an empty rural social insurance building was set ablaze in southern city Narbonne as farmers demonstrated nearby.

"There's no cause that can justify property damage or violence... (but) at present there are unfortunately farmers who feel desperate," Young Farmers (JA) union chief Arnaud Gaillot had earlier told broadcaster Sud Radio.

President Emmanuel Macron's government still bears the scars of the 2018-19 "yellow vests" movement, which mobilised huge numbers of people across French society and saw ugly clashes between demonstrators and police.

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By Juliette Michel And Taimaz Szirniks With Afp Regional Bureaus