Farmers in France plan to widen their ongoing protests against tax hikes and increasing pressure from EU regulations, the country’s main agricultural union said on Wednesday.
“By Friday, there will be actions in 85 departments, continuous or sporadic. Everyone in all the departments will eventually go out,” FNSEA president Arnaud Rousseau told France radio. “We don’t want to bother the French population, we would rather be on our farms, but we have no choice,” Rousseau added.
Farmers are demanding better wages, simplified administration, no new pesticide bans, an end to fuel price hikes for tractors and better compensation after disasters, according to France 24.
The protests began last week when demonstrators blocked motorways in south-west France.
An accident on Tuesday raised tensions at the protests in the southern town of Ariege, near the Spanish border, broadcaster BFMTV reported: a vehicle hit and killed a 35-year-old protesting farmer, Alexandra, and her 12-year-old daughter, while her husband was injured.
Other European countries, including Germany and Romania, have been rocked by farmer protests in recent weeks, and farmers in Belgium are planning to protest in a different province every day next week, according to Belgian media.