French police arrested dozens of farmers who were protesting at a food market in Paris as tensions escalated between the local government and the angry demonstrators.
Government officials warned that disruption at the Rungis food market, which is a distribution hub that feeds 12 million people, would cross a red line for the protesters. Law enforcement authorities said that roughly 91 farmers who converged at the market were taken into custody.
The situation comes as farmers were looking to stop food deliveries from reaching supermarkets, in an attempt to demand better pay and less red tape. Rungis is located on the southern edge of the capital and is known as "the belly of Paris."
The distribution hub is responsible for providing much of the fresh fish, fruit, meat, and vegetables that the region consumes every day. It is also the second-largest market of its kind in the world.
In anticipation of the farmers' arrival at the food market, police units with armored vehicles were deployed along the A6 motorway to the market. Furthermore, police checkpoints were set up around its access points, as per BBC.
The protesters later entered the market's storage area and caused damage before they were forcibly taken out by security forces. In a statement, Paris police chief Laurentz Nunez said that authorities "cannot tolerate disturbances to public order."
There were also 18 people who were seen trying to blockade Rungis and were arrested for "interfering with traffic." Prosecutors said that 15 of the individuals were taken into custody. The situation comes as convoys of farmers' tractors have been blocking key roads into the French capital and the situation has been dubbed the "siege of Paris."
The European country has become the focal point of a growing dispute across the region as tens of thousands of farmers across Germany, Poland, Romania, Belgium, and Italy have also staged demonstrations.
Ongoing Demonstrations
The French government has scrambled to offer concessions with new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal saying on Tuesday that he is prepared to solve the current crisis. At the country's National Assembly, he told lawmakers that there is and there must be a French agricultural exception, according to Euronews.
The prime minister said that he would put in place controls on imported food that would ensure "fair competition" for local farmers. He added that it would be especially true for regulations that are being applied equally to both French farmers and imported products.
One of the key grievances of protesting farmers is a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur, a South American bloc that is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. They are concerned that they will not be able to compete with cheap imports of agricultural goods that do not have to conform to the same regulatory standards that they do.
Additionally, they are protesting against increased taxes and other European agriculture policies that they claim threaten their livelihoods. On Wednesday, farmers also advanced toward Orly airport and other major cities and towns, including Lyon in the east and Toulouse in the southwest, said CBS News.
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