France’s police want to prevent the blockade of Paris threatened by farmers from tomorrow with a large contingent.

As Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said this evening, 15,000 officials as well as armored vehicles and helicopters will be mobilized. They should ensure that the capital as well as the two Paris airports and the wholesale market of Rungis remain accessible.

Pictures of the Paris police prefecture showed in the evening how armored vehicles already took a position.

Main axles should be blocked

In their fight for better working and living conditions, farmers had threatened to block Paris. All main axes that lead to the metropolis are therefore to be interrupted. In addition, farmers want to block the wholesale market of Rungis. This is a gigantic transshipment point for fish, meat, poultry, dairy and delicatessen products.

The Minister of the Interior stressed that it was not about a test of strength, but an orderly course of the protests. The police will not intervene at blockade posts themselves. Public buildings should be protected and safe travel through France for foreign trucks should be guaranteed. It should be prevented that, as has already happened occasionally, trucks from Spain or Portugal, for example, are stopped and plundered by farmers.

France’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had made far-reaching promises of aid to the farmers in the face of days of protests on Friday. Later, Attal promised additional measures against unfair competition from other countries when visiting a farm. The commitments have not gone far enough for farmers so far.