Over 1,000 tractors roll into Paris for farmer protest

AKIPRESS.COM - French farmers have driven a convoy of up to a thousand tractors into Paris as part of a protest against the government's agricultural policies.
The two main farm unions organising the unrest blame stagnant revenues, the phasing out of certain pesticides and what they claim is unfair competition.
The tractors will remain parked on the highway circling the city until French president Emmanuel Macron agrees to meet with protesters, said regional farmers' union spokesperson Elise Despiney.
They could remain there for "hours, or maybe days", she added.
By mid-morning, blue and green tractors bearing signs reading "Respond, Macron!" had advanced towards the southwestern edge of the city, taking up two lanes of the highway as police escorted them on motorcycles. They then stalled on the Paris ring road, where some protesters have pitched tents and lit fires.