At least 66 people detained after farmers blocked traffic around the Arc de Triomphe

At least 66 people were detained this Friday in Paris after farmers blocked traffic around the Arc de Triomphe with straw bales and tractors, French police said.

The farmers arrived by tractor at the Arc de Triomphe, a site honoring soldiers killed in battle and located on the famous Campos Elisios Avenue, around 6:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. in Lisbon) and briefly disrupted traffic. according to police.

“The farmers (of the trade union) of the Rural Coordination, mobilized by all, are concentrated in Paris. Quick action to save our 45% of agricultural holdings experiencing financial difficulties,” the trade union organization said on social networks.

The protest involved about 150 protesters who gathered at Place Charles de Gaulle, known as Place Estrela due to the confluence of the French capital’s 12 main avenues and the site of the Arc de Triomphe, police sources told public radio. Information.

The demonstration in Arco, which began at dawn, ended around 9:40 local time (8:40 Lisbon time), a journalist from the AFP news agency said.

In addition to this protest, the Rural Coordination is also planning to close some roads this Friday, such as the A86 and A4 southeast of Paris.

Other actions took place elsewhere near Paris, with four tractors blocking an exit from the ring road and others positioned at another exit on that road surrounding the capital, according to police.

“The column of tractors is heading to the Palace of Versailles,” several tens of kilometers from Paris, where the police will be waiting for them, the same source added.

The mobilization of this alliance, which is linked to the right and the far right, comes after the presence on Saturday of French President Emmanuel Macron at the International Agricultural Fair, which took place in Paris and is the most important event of its kind in the world.

Macron went to the fair to hold his inauguration, as is traditional for French presidents, but was met with harsh refusals, booing and some violent incidents between police and farmers.

The president, who remained at the event for several hours under tight security, met with dozens of representatives from the agricultural sector to explain the measures his executive branch is planning and thus try to calm nerves.

Macron also accused the group that caused the worst incidents of being there for political reasons, particularly linked to Marine Le Pen’s far-right, rather than to protect the interests of a sector that has staged protests in France and elsewhere in recent months. European countries.