French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with boos and catcalls at the opening of the Paris agricultural fair on Saturday by angry farmers who accused him of not doing enough to support them.
Macron was due to attend the event, which attracts large crowds every year. But before the official opening, several dozen protesters pushed their way through security barriers and entered the grounds as the president arrived.
farmers have been protesting for months Across France, including Paris, they are demanding better living conditions, simpler regulations and better protection from foreign competition they see as unfair.
Police in full riot gear were deployed at the Paris agricultural fair to prevent them from approaching Macron, who had a planned meeting with the leaders of France's largest farmers' unions.
Meanwhile, protesters chanted slogans calling on Macron to “resign” and blew whistles to express their anger.
“We will not be able to respond to the agricultural crisis in a few hours,” Macron said. “It has taken months, years of work for those who came here to present their livestock, their work… This fair must go well and calmly.”
Three weeks ago, farmers Roadblocks around Paris lifted and elsewhere in the country after the government offered more than 400 million euros ($433 million) in aid and tax breaks.
“Anger can be expressed,” Macron said, warning against any “violence.”
The French president decided to meet with groups of protesters in a separate room. He promised to set “minimum prices” for every product to “guarantee farmers’ income.” He also said that the implementation of an emergency plan to provide financial relief to the most struggling companies would begin on Monday.
Macron said a meeting would be held at the Elysee presidential palace in March to develop “a plan for the future of agriculture” with farmers' unions and other key players in the food industry.
A farmer asked the president to say, “In front of the cameras, you will give oxygen to the farmers… Do that and I guarantee you will calm everyone down.”
Macron replied: “You have complaints. There is no government that is completely deaf… It is not true that nothing has been done.”
He later officially opened the fair, but the opening was delayed by several hours due to the protests.
Macron then mingled with farmers showcasing their livestock and products, ranging from cows from Normandy and Camembert cheese – while protesters could still be heard intermittently whistling loudly.
The move came when Farmers across Europe protest against the EU agricultural policyBureaucracy and general terms and conditions.
Farmers complain that the 27-nation bloc's environmental policies, such as: Green dealwhich calls for a limit on the use of chemicals and greenhouse gas emissions, limits their business and makes their products more expensive than imports from non-EU countries.
On Friday, farmers staged one on their tractors Demonstration in the streets of Paris before the agricultural fair.
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Jeffrey Schaeffer contributed to this report.