Why are French farmers threatening to turn France 'upside down'?
They're vowing to 'turn the country upside down' and have begun blockading highways and a nuclear power plant - but what are French farmers angry about?
France has become one of several European countries where farmers are staging increasingly disruptive protests.
In France the protests started small at the end of 2023 with the 'upside down sign' action - farmers unscrewed village signposts and put them back upside down, often adding the slogan On marche sur les têtes (we're walking on our heads) signify a world turned upside down.
Protests ramped up over the weekend with farmers blocking several major routes in the south of France, as well as blockading a nuclear power plant - union leaders say the actions will continue "this week and as long as necessary".
Although protests across Europe have some common features, there are specific aspects to the French demos.
So what are French farmers angry about?
There are several aspects to their protests, some of which have already been addressed after a meeting with former prime minister Elisabeth Borne at the end of last year. Union leaders met with new PM Gabriel Attal and agriculture minister Marc Fesneau on Monday evening.
However, after two hours of discussion, the head of the FNSEA agriculture union, Arnaud Rousseau, told French media that there would be "no lifting of actions as long as there are no concrete decisions" from the executive.
Diesel prices - the price of agricultural diesel was set to rise, in large part because the government is removing some of the subsidies that have been in place since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This price rise has been suspended.
Water licence fees - farmers were supposed to begin paying an extra €47 million per year which would have involved fees for water consumption (to encourage people to use less), as well as penalties for polluting water courses. However, this measure has been postponed in response to the anger.
Burdensome rules - farmers say the regulations concerning their work have become so complicated that no-one knows what they can and cannot do. An example given was 14 different directives concerning the planting of hedges.
Chemical regulations - the EU's 'Green Pact' contains several aspects that farmers object to, including bans on several pesticides and herbicides. Although a proposed ban on the controversial weedkiller glyphosate was over-turned, farmers worry about increasing legislation.
Mercosur - the EU is negotiating a wide-ranging treaty with South American countries which would, among many other things, allowed increased access to EU markets for South American products including Brazilian and Argentinian beef. French farmers say this represents unfair competition as South American farmers are not bound by strict European rules on animal welfare.
EU paperwork - France receives €9 billion a year in EU agricultural subsides, more than any other country, but farmers say almost one day in every seven is spent filling out the mountains of paperwork (both EU and French) that comes with the subsidies.
OPINION French farmers have legitimate grievances, but it's not all the fault of Brussels
But aside from the more specific grievances, farmers are also angry about contradictory policies - from both France and the EU - which try to make farming more eco-friendly while at the same time producing more food.
Farmers say the frequent changes in direction make it hard for them to plan, and trying to reconcile contracting policy aims make their job harder if not impossible.
There's also a long-term trend in France of declining numbers of farmers, especially of small, family-run farms, and declining wages - two out of five French farmers earn less than €4,500 a year.
More than half of France's remaining farmers are over 50 years old.
Is there a link to the far-right?
Several European farmers protests, including Germany, have strong links to far-right parties.
In France the far-right Rassemblement National has voiced its support for farmers, but the protests do not originate with them. The party is seizing on anything that will embarrass the government - especially complaints about the EU ahead of the European elections in June, but does not have a coherent and detailed plan that would address the farmers' grievances.
One of the French farming unions, the Coordination Rurale, is explicitly anti-Brussels and has far-right leanings while other unions - including the largest union the FNSEA - have no specific links to the far-right.
Some individual farmers undoubtedly vote Le Pen, while plenty of others don't.
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France has become one of several European countries where farmers are staging increasingly disruptive protests.
In France the protests started small at the end of 2023 with the 'upside down sign' action - farmers unscrewed village signposts and put them back upside down, often adding the slogan On marche sur les têtes (we're walking on our heads) signify a world turned upside down.
Protests ramped up over the weekend with farmers blocking several major routes in the south of France, as well as blockading a nuclear power plant - union leaders say the actions will continue "this week and as long as necessary".
Although protests across Europe have some common features, there are specific aspects to the French demos.
So what are French farmers angry about?
There are several aspects to their protests, some of which have already been addressed after a meeting with former prime minister Elisabeth Borne at the end of last year. Union leaders met with new PM Gabriel Attal and agriculture minister Marc Fesneau on Monday evening.
However, after two hours of discussion, the head of the FNSEA agriculture union, Arnaud Rousseau, told French media that there would be "no lifting of actions as long as there are no concrete decisions" from the executive.
Diesel prices - the price of agricultural diesel was set to rise, in large part because the government is removing some of the subsidies that have been in place since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This price rise has been suspended.
Water licence fees - farmers were supposed to begin paying an extra €47 million per year which would have involved fees for water consumption (to encourage people to use less), as well as penalties for polluting water courses. However, this measure has been postponed in response to the anger.
Burdensome rules - farmers say the regulations concerning their work have become so complicated that no-one knows what they can and cannot do. An example given was 14 different directives concerning the planting of hedges.
Chemical regulations - the EU's 'Green Pact' contains several aspects that farmers object to, including bans on several pesticides and herbicides. Although a proposed ban on the controversial weedkiller glyphosate was over-turned, farmers worry about increasing legislation.
Mercosur - the EU is negotiating a wide-ranging treaty with South American countries which would, among many other things, allowed increased access to EU markets for South American products including Brazilian and Argentinian beef. French farmers say this represents unfair competition as South American farmers are not bound by strict European rules on animal welfare.
EU paperwork - France receives €9 billion a year in EU agricultural subsides, more than any other country, but farmers say almost one day in every seven is spent filling out the mountains of paperwork (both EU and French) that comes with the subsidies.
OPINION French farmers have legitimate grievances, but it's not all the fault of Brussels
But aside from the more specific grievances, farmers are also angry about contradictory policies - from both France and the EU - which try to make farming more eco-friendly while at the same time producing more food.
Farmers say the frequent changes in direction make it hard for them to plan, and trying to reconcile contracting policy aims make their job harder if not impossible.
There's also a long-term trend in France of declining numbers of farmers, especially of small, family-run farms, and declining wages - two out of five French farmers earn less than €4,500 a year.
More than half of France's remaining farmers are over 50 years old.
Is there a link to the far-right?
Several European farmers protests, including Germany, have strong links to far-right parties.
In France the far-right Rassemblement National has voiced its support for farmers, but the protests do not originate with them. The party is seizing on anything that will embarrass the government - especially complaints about the EU ahead of the European elections in June, but does not have a coherent and detailed plan that would address the farmers' grievances.
One of the French farming unions, the Coordination Rurale, is explicitly anti-Brussels and has far-right leanings while other unions - including the largest union the FNSEA - have no specific links to the far-right.
Some individual farmers undoubtedly vote Le Pen, while plenty of others don't.
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