Farmers Descend on Paris

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Farmers throughout the world have been protesting the increasing regulations on agriculture. The media is barely covering the story, and when they do mention it, they say that the farmers are protesting due to Russia blocking supplies from Ukraine. This is simply untrue. The farmers are protesting against over-regulation, taxes, and the climate change agenda that is making it increasingly difficult for them to make a successful living.

Hundreds of tractors descended on Paris earlier in the week where they were met by 15,000 police officers. Numerous blockages were reported, and the farmers have described the situation as a “siege on the city.”  “Our goal isn’t to bother or to ruin French people’s lives,” Arnaud Rousseau, president of the influential FNSEA agricultural union, said on RTL radio. “Our goal is to put pressure on the government to rapidly find solutions out of the crisis.”

Farmers from nearby Belgium are now joining the French protest. The European Union plans to meet in Brussels this Thursday to discuss providing Ukraine with additional financial aid, and the protestors have made it clear that this demonstration demands their concerns be heard.

In terms of Ukraine, the EU has permitted an influx of agricultural imports since the beginning of the war and removed all quotas and tariffs. Domestic production cannot compete with the surge of agricultural goods coming from Ukraine. Ukraine has cornered the entire wheat production industry as domestic producers simply cannot sell their products at the same rate due to regulations imposed by the EU.

A few European nations have implemented temporary restrictions on Ukrainian agriculture, but the entire problem is that they are under the control of the European Union. Those in Brussels are making decisions for the collective of Europe despite policies that favor some members over others. The farmers have made it clear that the protests will not end until their demands are met, and farmers throughout ALL of Europe are joining forces to protest the people attempting to destroy their livelihoods.