Major farming unions had earlier announced plans to “lay siege to the capital indefinitely” starting Monday afternoon, the start of “All Hazards Week”.
The mobilization of the peasants in France was aimed, above all, at denouncing falling incomes, low pensions, administrative problems, inflation of standards, and foreign competition.
To avoid these protest actions, the Interior Minister met this Sunday with the Director General of the Police and National Gendarmerie and the Paris Police Chief.
The minister reiterated the police's demand for “restraint” against the farmers.
The interior ministry explained that “the position remains: the police must act with utmost restraint” and intervene only as a “last resort” if public integrity is threatened or buildings are severely damaged. Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted.
Arnaud Rousseau, head of the main agricultural union, the National Federation of Agricultural Operators Associations (FNSEA), appealed to farmers this Sunday for “calm and determination”.
“There is no doubt there will be other accidents,” declared Arnaud Rousseau, referring to what happened earlier this week in Palmiers, southwestern France, where a farmer and his daughter were killed by a car trying to cross a barrier.
The head of FNSEA warned that the accident opened the door to a “week of all dangers”.
“Everyone will take their responsibilities because the government will not listen to us, or will get angry,” he pointed out.
The protest by French farmers echoes that of their German counterparts, who have been mobilizing since late December against the agricultural diesel taxation reform decided by the German government of Olaf Scholes.