French police want to use large force to break the blockade of Paris threatened by farmers from Monday. As the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday night that 15,000 police officers, as well as armored vehicles and helicopters, would be mobilized. It must ensure that the capital, as well as the two Paris airports and the Rungis wholesale market, remain accessible.
Footage from the Paris police prefecture at night showed how armored vehicles had already taken up positions:
In their fight for better working and living conditions, farmers threatened to blockade Paris from Monday. All main axes leading to the metropolis should therefore be interrupted. Farmers also want Rungis Wholesale Market block – a gigantic transshipment point for fish, meat, poultry, dairy products and delicatessen.
Road trains have already been stopped and looted
The Minister of the Interior emphasized that it was not a confrontation, but rather an orderly conduct of the protests. The police will not intervene at the checkpoints themselves. Public buildings must be protected and foreign road trains must be guaranteed safe travel through France. What must be avoided is that, as has already happened in isolated cases, trucks coming from Spain or Portugal, for example, are stopped and looted by farmers.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal made far-reaching promises of aid to farmers on Friday in the face of days of protests. On Sunday, Attal promised additional measures against unfair competition from other countries during a visit to a farm. So far, the promises have not gone far enough for farmers.