French Farmers Threaten Paris Blockade Over Agricultural Policies

The Coordination Rurale demands urgent talks with Prime Minister François Bayrou and Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard to address grievances over regulations and trade practices.

The Coordination Rurale, France's second-largest agricultural union, plans to block access to Paris starting Sunday, January 5, if their demands for a meeting with government officials are not met.
The union seeks guarantees for an 'exception agriculturelle' to protect small farmers and stricter controls on imported goods to prevent unfair competition.
Farmers are protesting what they see as overregulation through 'surtransposition' of EU rules and the lack of parity in agricultural standards between domestic and imported products.
The planned protest coincides with the upcoming elections for the Chambers of Agriculture, where the Coordination Rurale aims to challenge the dominance of the FNSEA-Jeunes Agriculteurs alliance.
The FNSEA-JA alliance has also requested an urgent meeting with the government to revisit unresolved promises from last winter's agricultural protests.