'Technocratic EU does not respect farmers', says union boss
The “technocratic” EU does not “respect” farmers, the leader of one of France’s biggest farming unions said, as Brussels was swarmed by tractor convoys on Thursday.
Arnaud Rousseau made the attack on European leaders as he called off blockades of major French cities, following a series of government concessions announced by prime minister Gabriel Attal.
Protests are continuing outside the European parliament in Brussels, as farmers from across the continent converged to demonstrate against the bloc’s environmental regulations and red tape.
Key grievances include its rules on fallow land and enthusiasm for a trade deal with South America, which they fear will drive down prices.
Mr Rousseau criticised the EU’s “deafness” to farmers’ woes, claiming its decisions were “taken from afar” and “do not respect the work of farmers”.
He also hit out at a “growing lack of understanding between a technocratic structure walled into its Brussels offices and the reality of what we experience on our farms”.
05:07 PM GMT
That's all for today
Thanks for following our live coverage of the farming protests across Europe. This live blog is now closed.
05:07 PM GMT
Pictures: Farmers take to streets of Milan
05:02 PM GMT
French farmers call off road blockades as government backs down
France’s biggest farming unions have called off protests after winning a series of concessions from the government.
“We are calling on our networks… to suspend the blockades and embark on a new form of mobilisation,” Arnaud Gaillot and Arnaud Rousseau, who lead the FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs unions, said.
Mr Rousseau added that Gabriel Attal, the French prime minister, had made “tangible progress” on tackling their grievances after his previous “botched and incomplete” attempts.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Attal said France will protect its farmers from “the law of the jungle” by enshrining in law the principle that it should be self-reliant in food and tightening import controls.
He added that the government would relax environmental regulations where allowed by EU law, while ruling out a trade deal with South American countries that farmers fear will undercut them.
France has been rocked by four days of farming protests. Protesters crossed one of the government’s red lines yesterday when they entered the international market at Rungis, near Paris.
04:20 PM GMT
Socialist head hits out at delay to pesticide plan
Olivier Faure, the French Socialist Party chief, has denounced the government’s decision to put on hold its “Ecophyto” plan aimed to reduce the use of pesticides, Henry Samuel reports.
“The farmers’ movement was calling for decent incomes for all, but the government is responding with a right to pollute (to the detriment of farmers first) in order to produce more and more poorly,” he said. “Agribusiness has a bright future ahead of it. So does junk food.”
While France’s two biggest farmers’ unions – FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs – have called for a “suspension” in blockades, the Left-leaning union Confédération paysanne said that it will continue protest action.
The union said it is “continuing to mobilise around the movement’s main demand: a decent income through a ban on buying our farm produce below cost price”.
03:59 PM GMT
EU wants to 'reduce the burden' on farmers
The EU wants to reduce the “administrative burden” on farmers, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, has said.
It comes as European leaders meet in Brussels for a summit, where farmers are protesting against the bloc’s environmental regulations and red tape.
03:39 PM GMT
Pictured: Smoke billows over Brussels as protests continue
03:30 PM GMT
Blockade to continue near Paris on A6 motorway
A blockade on one of France’s major roads is continuing despite union leaders calling off protests, French media reports.
“Progress was announced by [French prime minister] Gabriel Attal, but the speeches of the ministers which followed were more vague,” a FNSEA union official blocking the A6 in Essonne, near Paris, said.
“In the meantime, we are not breaking camp,” he added.
03:08 PM GMT
No progress means more protests, unions warn
Calling for “the suspension of blockades”, France’s Young Farmers’ union chief Arnaud Gaillot said: “From Monday onwards, we are going to get to work in the prefectures and ministries to work on all the points that have been announced, to see how they are being applied and how we can ensure that they are actually put into practice on the ground.”
Henry Samuel reports:
He said union leaders are asking for a document summarising the announcements, as well as “initial results at the (annual) agricultural fair”, for this law (on agricultural policy) to be passed through Parliament, and for the whole European part to be put into action”.
If there is no progress, he added, “we will not hesitate to join in a widespread protest movement.”
03:05 PM GMT
Angry farmers tear down statue of British industrialist outside EU parliament
A statue raised in tribute to a British industrialist has been pulled down as farmers protest in front of the European Parliament in Brussels.
The “steelworker” is part of the monument to John Cockerill, the steel baron who helped transform Belgium into a 19th-century industrial titan. It has been previously targeted by Extinction Rebellion activists.
A thousand tractors descended on Brussels this morning as farmers from across Europe headed to the Belgian capital to protest the bloc’s environmental regulations and net zero ambitions.
While demonstrations have largely been peaceful, tensions rose yesterday as 79 farmers were arrested for storming the Rungis international market in France.
03:01 PM GMT
'EU technocracy does not respect farmers'
Mr Rousseau criticised Europe’s “deafness” before adding: “This battle for our agriculture, for all of us, is intimately linked to the future of what is happening in Europe.”
Henry Samuel reports:
At a time when the European Commission has proposed measures to limit imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, he said: “We have dithered for more than a year on the issue of agricultural imports, and we are now waiting for strong decisions that will protect the European domestic market.”
Reaffirming his “attachment to Europe”, Mr Rousseau went on to denounce its “technocracy”, with “decisions taken from afar that do not respect the work of farmers”.
“We obviously understand that European projects can take time, and that we can’t change the rules in a matter of days, but at this point in time, it is essential that the heads of state and government understand that if we want to protect Europe... then we need to be able to do so with men and women who want to move forward”, said Mr Rousseau.
02:50 PM GMT
Farming union boss hails 'tangible progress'
FNSEA union boss Arnaud Rousseau said that after “a botched and incomplete exercise” by Mr Attal last Friday, “we have been heard on a number of points, with tangible progress”, Henry Samuel reports.
“But there are also things that are not there and that need to be clarified”, he added.
In particular, Mr Rousseau said he was “sensitive to the announcement of emergency measures concerning LNG, health and climate compensation, and the rapid payment of the latest subsidies” paid by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
The president of France’s largest farmers’ union also welcomed Mr Attal’s pledge to move “in the direction of sovereignty, production and an agricultural policy that is self-sufficient”.
02:34 PM GMT
France's biggest farming unions call for end of road blocks
France’s two biggest farming unions, FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs (Young Farmers), have called for blockades in France to be “suspended” in light of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s announcements, Henry Samuel reports.
“We have decided that at the present time, in view of everything that has been announced... we need to change our methods of action, and so we are calling on our networks... to suspend the blockades and embark on a new form of mobilisation”, said Arnaud Gaillot, President of the JA, alongside FNSEA boss Arnaud Rousseau.
02:07 PM GMT
Farmers 'believed they were pulling down statue of EU founder'
When a small group of militant farmers hauled the statue of Lancashire-born John Cockerill from its plinth at the centre of Place Du Luxembourg, they believed they were dragging down a monument to one of the European Union’s founding fathers.
Joe Barnes reports:
Little did the farmers know that they had accidentally damaged a homage to the industrialist often credited with creating the Belgian railways and saving its wool industry.
Cockerill’s statue indeed even outdates the EU by more than 100 years, having been erected in 1872.
02:05 PM GMT
Supermarket hubs blockaded by farmers
One of Belgium’s biggest supermarket chains has warned of gaps in shelves after three of its distribution centres were blocked by farmers.
Colruyt hubs in Ollignies, Ghislenghien and Halle in central western Belgium, which supply its shops with dry food, water and drinks, and fresh and frozen products, are unable to shift their produce.
“At the moment, stock is still available in our shops... [but] it is inevitable that products will eventually be missing from the shelves,” Colruyt said in a statement.
“Colruyt Group has always focused on sourcing locally as much as possible and succeeds very well in this for many categories,” it added.
01:32 PM GMT
French PM: Problems cannot be solved by snapping my fingers
Gabriel Attal, the French prime minister, declared his “love” for farmers but admitted he could not solve their problems “with a snap of the fingers”.
He told a press conference:
We love our farmers... I know that no farmer who mobilized did so for pleasure.
I fight for the France of effort, which works, which gives everything to its country, which always meets its responsibilities, which respects the rules.”
These are not problems that can be resolved with a snap of the fingers in two days.
But I dare to say that we need action and clear decisions, likely to meet a large part of the expectations. But there is a discomfort that comes from afar, and I am aware that it takes time to convince.”
01:19 PM GMT
Pictured: Fires and confrontations continue outside European parliament
12:52 PM GMT
€2billion fund announced for new farmers
Marc Fesneau, France’s agriculture minister, has announced a €2billion fund “to allow loans for farmers who are setting up”, French media reports.
12:27 PM GMT
Watch: Riot police hose down Brussels protesters
12:12 PM GMT
French PM: We need to protect farmers from 'law of the jungle'
Gabriel Attal, France’s prime minister, has vowed to protect agriculture against “the law of the jungle” by becoming self-reliant in food while tightening import controls.
“We want to be sovereign. Self-reliant for growing food, self-reliant for harvesting, self-reliant to feed ourselves... We will enter this sovereignty target into law,” Mr Attal said.
He added that the government will stop imposing stricter regulation on its farmers than EU regulations require, while pushing for “clear European legislation” on synthetic meat, which “does not correspond to our conception of French food”.
Some €150 million will be paid to breeders in the summer who need financial assistance.
12:07 PM GMT
Pictured: Greek farmers hold tractor rally in protest
11:46 AM GMT
Macron meets with von der Leyen for farming talks
Emmanuel Macron and Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, spoke for around 40 minutes on the sidelines of the European Council in Brussels.
It had previously been announced that the pair would discuss the “future of European agriculture”, French media reported.
11:40 AM GMT
Dozens arrested as farmers break into huge Paris food market
Dozens of farmers were arrested on Wednesday night as they stormed a wholesale food market dubbed the “belly of Paris” that feeds 12 million people daily.
Emmanuel Macron’s government had warned farmers besieging the French capital not to approach airports or Rungis, the vast food distribution hub to the south of Paris which is the world’s largest fresh food market.
But that failed to take into account the level of anger over what farmers view as unacceptably low pay, stifling red tape, as well as unworkable European agricultural policy and unfair competition from foreign rivals.
On Wednesday night a group of 91 evaded police to break into the sprawling site, also known as “Paris’s fridge”.
Read the full dispatch from Henry Samuel here.
11:19 AM GMT
European leaders 'super nervous' ahead of elections
European leaders will listen to protesting farmers because they are “nervous” about elections in June, a union official at the Brussels protest said.
Jose Maria Castilla, a farmer representing the Spanish farmers’ union Asaja, said: “You know what’s happening: European elections are coming and politicians are super nervous and also the European Commission.
“And I think that this is the best moment that together all the European farmers go to the street.”
It comes as Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, met with protesters and declared: “There’s a European election in June. We need a new European Parliament.”
11:09 AM GMT
Orban hails 'voice of the people' as he meets with protesters
Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, has met with protesting farmers in Brussels ahead of a crunch summit on Ukraine aid, supporting what he called 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,” he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
The footage showed Mr Orban could be seen strolling among tractors blocking the streets of Brussels and shaking hands with a demonstrator.
“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.
10:59 AM GMT
Pictured: Riot police deployed outside European parliament
10:27 AM GMT
Le Pen tops 'popularity barometer' for first time
Eurosceptic hard-Right figure Marine Le Pen, whose National Rally party has sought to gain political capital out of the farmer’s revolt, has been placed top of Le Figaro’s monthly popularity “barometer” for the first time on 40 per cent, Henry Samuel reports.
Edouard Philippe, Emmanuel Macron’s former prime minister and a potential presidential contender in 2027, is in second place with Jordan Bardella, National Rally party leader and European election figurehead in third place.
10:21 AM GMT
Police fire tear gas as protesters let off fireworks
Farmers threw eggs and stones at the European Parliament, starting fires near the building and setting off fireworks to put pressure on EU leaders.
Some 1,300 tractors are thought to be blocking major roads in Brussels, with farmers from across Europe taking part in the demonstrations.
Protesters tried to tear down the barriers erected in front of parliament – a few blocks from where the summit was taking place – but police pushed them back with water hoses and fired teargas.
The monument to John Cockerill, a British industrialist, was damaged during the unrest as a steelworker statue on its plinth was pulled down.
10:11 AM GMT
French PM to unveil new deal for farmers
French prime minister Gabriel Attal is reportedly due to give a press conference at midday French time to unveil new measures designed to appease the anger of the farming community, Henry Samuel reports.
He will make the announcements beside French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau, economy minister Bruno Le Maire and ecological transition minister Christophe Béchu.
10:09 AM GMT
Pictures: Protesters hurl eggs at EU headquarters
10:04 AM GMT
79 farmers arrested in Rungis released
Some 79 farmers arrested at Rungis market outside Paris on Wednesday night have been released, the Crétail public prosecutor’s office said.
Henry Samuel reports:
Investigations “will continue” as part of a preliminary inquiry that has been opened, “in particular concerning the use of videos to identify the main perpetrators of the damage”, it added.
On Wednesday evening, 79 farmers were arrested and placed under arrest “for damage to other people’s property as part of a group and participation in a group formed to prepare damage to property”, the public prosecutor’s office said.
Paris police chief Laurent Nu?ez, said on Wednesday evening that a total of 91 people had been arrested in connection with the incidents, which took place in a storage area at Rungis.
Another 15 farmers were arrested earlier when they violated government “red lines” by driving their tractors to of the biggest fresh food market in Europe.
09:58 AM GMT
EU must 'simplify' agriculture policy, says French farming minister
The French agriculture minister has called for the rapid “simplification” of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) procedures, which the sector has criticised for being too complex, Henry Samuel reports.
“We cannot have a CAP that is so complex and incomprehensible, sometimes both for our administrations and our farmers. We need to embark resolutely on the road to simplification,” Marc Fesneau told reporters on Wednesday night.
“You have farmers today who don’t know why they are receiving the aid they get. There’s no question of waiting for the new CAP post-2027,” he said. “If France tackles the revision of its national rules, the same work must be done at the European level,” he insisted.
09:53 AM GMT
Pictures: Farmers protest outside EU parliament as crowds grow
09:49 AM GMT
Dozens of French supermarkets blocked by tractors
French farmers blocked 50 supermarkets in four Haute-Loire communes overnight to denounce the “inappropriate” behaviour of supermarkets, the FDSEA 43 union said.
Henry Samuel reports:
“Around 200 tractors, around 50 for each of the four towns targeted, dumped trailers of tyres and rubbish to block the entrances [to supermarkets],” Yannick Fialip, chairman of the FDSEA 43 economic committee, told AFP.
This coordinated action aimed to “denounce the inappropriate behaviour of supermarkets”, which are “putting crazy pressure on our farmers... with suffocating margins”; and to express farmers’ desire to be “paid properly”.
Carrefour, Lidl, Aldi and Casino stores were targeted in the Brioude, Yssingeaux, Craponne and Monistrol areas. This operation comes as trade negotiations between supermarkets and their agro-industrial suppliers on shelf prices “ended at midnight on Thursday”, he said.
09:45 AM GMT
Watch: Farmers from across Europe join Brussels protest
09:43 AM GMT
Belgian PM: Farmers' concerns are partly legitimate
The farmers are part of a wider European movement railing against EU policies, such as the bloc’s Net Zero ambitions, that they argue are killing the agricultural industry, Joe Barnes reports.
By 9am local time, farmers had lit fires on Place Du Luxembourg, a roundabout in front of the European Parliament building.
“You have seen the farmers’ demonstrations. We need to discuss this at the European Council. The concerns expressed by farmers are partly legitimate,” Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said arriving at the EU summit.
“They have already made a great deal of effort. We must ensure that they receive a fair price for the quality products they produce. And that the administrative burden on them remains bearable,” he added.
09:42 AM GMT
Brussels 'awoken by the sound of 1,000 tractors'
Brussels was awoken by the sound of 1,000 tractors descending on the city in protest as European Union leaders gathered there for talks, Joe Barnes reports.
The convoy headed straight for the Belgian capital’s European Quarter, the home of the European Council’s Justus Lipsius and Europa buildings hosting the summit.
While a heavy police presence and sprawling security cordons prevented the farmers from reaching the venue, tractors were spotted snarling up the roads leading to the nearby European Parliament.
This journalist was woken at 5am local time as a nearby ring road was subjected to vicious blasts from tractor horns singing in chorus as they approached Brussels.
Major traffic tunnels to and from the city’s main train station were also closed to traffic during rush hour, police said.
09:38 AM GMT
Morning
Hello and welcome to the live blog. Benedict Smith here. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as farmers head to Brussels to protest against the EU regulation as demonstrations continue.
