France’s leading farmers’ union the FNSEA along with its close ally the Young Farmers (JA) on Thursday (Feb 1), called to end nationwide roadblocks over pay, tax and regulation.
FNSEA chief Arnaud Rousseau released a statement saying that the government was “listening” to their demands after Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced cash support and other measures for farmers.
“We have decided to suspend the roadblocks and move to a new form of mobilisation,” JA president Arnaud Gaillot said at the same news conference.
Farmers clog roads with over 1,000 tractors around Brussels
Earlier in the day, farmers protesting across Europe over better working conditions, higher pay and less red tape, blocked roads around an EU summit taking place in Brussels with around 1,300 tractors, said a Belgian police official.
“There are over 1,000 tractors or agricultural machinery” being kept away from the gathering of the European Union’s 27 leaders, a police spokesman told news agency AFP.
He further added that the farmers were mainly from Belgium.
The farmers were stopped from entering the European Council building where the EU leaders were holding a discussion over aid to Ukraine.
However, they converged in front of the nearby European Parliament.
Farmers, according to AFP said that their aim was to take the demonstration to Brussels as the European elections were approaching in four months’ time.
“We have the European elections and the Belgian elections then as well. So everybody is afraid they will be wiped off the map and we put other people in power,” said one Belgian farmer, Dominique Houfflain, 51.
“We are taking advantage of the fact that there will be these two elections the same year to act,” he said.
Orban meets with protesting farmers in Brussels
Ahead of the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with the protesting farmers in Brussels in a move to showcase his support for what he dubbed the “voice of the people”.
“The voice of the people of the streets are not taken seriously by the leaders. It’s a democratic deficit,” said the nationalist leader in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“There’s a European election in June. We need a new European Parliament. We have to find new leaders who really represent the people,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
