A group of French farmers stormed into a major Paris farm market ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s planned visit, voicing concerns about expenses, red tape, and environmental rules.
Facing scores of police officers inside the trade expo, the farmers shouted and booed, demanding Macron’s resignation and using expletives directed at the French leader.
Macron, who had breakfast with French farmers’ union representatives, planned to walk through the trade fair’s alleyways thereafter.
Meanwhile, the Paris Farm Show, a significant event in France that attracts over 600,000 visitors over nine days, was set to open at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT). The doors remained closed at 0838 GMT, following the storming by irate farmers.
In a sign of tensions between French farmers and the government, Macron canceled a debate he was scheduled to hold at the fair with farmers, food processors, and retailers after farmers unions said they would not take part.
Report says Farmers have been protesting across Europe, calling for better income, and less bureaucracy and denouncing unfair competition from cheap Ukrainian goods imported to help Kyiv’s war effort.
Farmers’ protests, which have spread across Europe, come as the far right, for which farmers represent a growing constituency, is expected to make gains in European Parliament elections in June.
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 ($433 million).
However, protests resumed this week to put pressure on the government to provide more help and deliver on promises, ahead of the Paris farm show.
