were encircling Paris with tractor barricades and drive-slows on Monday, using their lumbering vehicles to block highways leading to France鈥檚 capital to pressure the government over the future of their industry, which has been shaken by repercussions of

The targeting of Paris 鈥� 鈥� and traffic-snarling protests elsewhere in France promised another difficult week for , less than a month into the job.

Protesters said Attal鈥檚 attempts last week at pro-agriculture measures that producing food should be more lucrative, easier and fairer.

Farmers responded by deploying hundreds of tractors, trailers and even rumbling harvesters to block and slow traffic in what they described as a 鈥渟iege鈥� to squeeze more concessions. Some protesters came with reserves of food and water and tents to stay at their barricades if the government doesn鈥檛 cede ground.

The barricades highlighted gulfs in economic and social opportunity between town and country in France. Protesters said they felt ignored by government ministers they accused of rarely venturing to farms and getting their shoes dirty.

The government announced a deployment of 15,000 police officers, mostly in the Paris region, to head off any effort by protesters to enter the capital. Officers and armored vehicles also were stationed at Paris鈥� hub for fresh food supplies, the Rungis market.

At Jossigny near the Disneyland theme park outside Paris, protesters blocked all six lanes of the A4 highway, parking their tractors so they formed what looked like an ear of wheat when seen from the air. Some vehicles carried placards declaring 鈥淣o food without farmers鈥� and 鈥淭he end of us would mean famine for you.鈥�

South of the capital, protesters used forklifts to deposit hay bales to block the A6 highway, broadcaster BFM-TV鈥檚 images showed.

鈥淥ur goal isn鈥檛 to bother or to ruin French people鈥檚 lives,鈥� Arnaud Rousseau, president of the influential FNSEA agricultural union, said on RTL radio. 鈥淥ur goal is to put pressure on the government to rapidly find solutions out of the crisis.鈥�

The movement in France is another manifestation of worsened by Russia鈥檚 nearly two-year full-scale war in Ukraine, a major food producer.

French farmers assert that higher prices for fertilizer, energy and other inputs for growing crops and feeding livestock have eaten into their incomes.

Protesters also argue that France鈥檚 massively subsidized farming sector is over-regulated and hurt by food imports from countries where agricultural producers face lower costs and fewer constraints. Rousseau used Ukrainian sugar producers as an example, saying their soaring exports to Europe since Russia invaded in February 2022 are 鈥渦ntenable鈥� for European counterparts.

Taxi drivers with other grievances also organized drive-slow protests Monday. Authorities elsewhere in the country also reported disruptions and recommended that road users switch to public transport if possible.

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