Despite a mobilization of 15,000 police officers to try and prevent tractors from entering Paris and other cities, French authorities have instructed law enforcement to exercise restraint in their handling of protestors. Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, says he warned farmers not to cross certain red lines, which include cutting off access to Paris’ main airports or Rungis, the world’s largest fresh food market. “We don’t intend to allow government buildings, or tax collection buildings, or grocery stores to be damaged or trucks transporting foreign produce to be stopped. Obviously, that is unacceptable,” he said. Protests have been widespread across the entire country for several weeks over rising diesel fuel costs, pay, and low food prices. Last week, the French government made several concessions with the hopes of appeasing local farmers. “You wanted to send a message, and I've received it loud and clear. We will put agriculture above everything else,” France’s new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said during a visit to a cattle farm. However, the concessions were not enough for protesters and the top farmer’s union. "We are not satisfied with what was announced this evening," said Alexandre Plateau, a representative of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA). “A few requests have been met, but it is not enough." Laurence Marandola, a spokesman for the Peasant Confederation union body, told the RTL radio network that the government’s concessions were "very largely insufficient". "We will continue to remain mobilized. It's not necessarily roadblocks, there will be different forms of mobilization, on the road, on roundabouts, in front of supermarkets," she said. Benoit Durand, a grain farmer, told French broadcaster BFM TV that blockading Paris will happen organically. “Parisians are going to be hungry. The goal is to starve Parisians. That’s it,” he said. Shortly after today’s protests began, taxis drivers joined the farmers and shut down all traffic in some areas.French farmers have used tractors to block major streets around France in a standoff with the government over falling incomes, increased bureaucracy, competition from imports, and environmental policies.
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