Additional measures to protect the country’s agricultural sector are planned by French governmentas stated by the country’s prime minister Gabriel Atalat a time when Paris is under threat of a siege by angry farmers who consider the first measures announced insufficient.

“I want things to be clarified and to see what measures we can take, extra measures, for these stories of unfair competition…it is not normal that you cannot use certain products, while neighboring countries, Italy and others, they can,” said Gabriel Attal, during his visit today to a farm south of Paris where he heard protests about a series of issues causing the crisis in the agricultural sector, such as falling incomes, low pensions, bureaucracy, an overabundance of laws and regulations, competition from abroad.

The visit of the French Prime Minister comes at a time when the situation is in danger of worsening, after a temporary respite from the agricultural mobilizations. The farmers of the two main agricultural unions are threatening an indefinite siege of the French capital. “From Monday, January 29 at 2:00 p.m., all roads leading to the capital will be occupied by farmers,” according to their statement.

However, the course and form of the rural mobilizations at the national level has not been decided.

Today, many important roads remain blocked, despite the de-escalation, in Brittany (north) and Garde (south).

The French farmers’ anger comes in the wake of German farmers’ demonstrations in late December against the agricultural diesel tax decided by Olaf Solz’s government.