French strike brings Paris to a standstill as 1,000 farmers clog the roads

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Combination of factors pushed down price for staples like beef and pork
Price of milk dropped to 320 euros per tonne from 340 euros during 2014
Farmers angry with government as they are forced to sell at a loss
Posters said 'No food without agriculture' and 'Don't abandon your farmers'

Published: 07:30 EST, 3 September 2015 | Updated: 08:04 EST, 3 September 2015

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More than 1,000 tractors rolled into Paris on Thursday as farmers attempted to clog up the capital's roads in protest at their plummeting incomes.

Tractors were lined up at the busy Nation roundabout in the east of the city, but Parisians heeded calls to avoid using their cars and traffic was less congested than normal during the morning rush hour.

Farmers on their tractors have been descending - slowly - on the capital from all corners of France, angry over the falling prices for their farm produce which they blame on foreign competition, Russian sanctions, and a raw deal from local supermarkets and distributors.

Anger: More than 1,000 tractors descended on Paris as farmers voiced their anger over falling food prices

Falling: A combination of factors has pushed down the price of staples like beef and pork

Determined: It took many a week to reach the French capital, travelling at average speeds of 22 miles an hour

Agriculture has been struggling across Europe, and protests are also expected in Brussels ahead of an EU meeting on the subject on Monday.

It has taken many of them a week to reach the capital, travelling at an average speed of 22 miles an hour.

'What we're asking for today is three or four centimes more on a burger,' said Xavier Beulin, head of France's leading farmers' union FNSEA, told iTele.

The first tractors to arrive came from the northwestern region of Brittany, a major producer of milk and pork, flying banners with slogans such 'No food without agriculture' and 'Don't abandon your farmers'.

FNSEA said they were expecting 1,733 tractors as well as dozens of cars and buses. Police said they had counted more than 1,300 tractors on the roads into Paris.

'Milk has dropped to 320 euros per tonne from 340 euros last year, and it's still falling,' said Christian Ribet, who had arrived on a tractor from Brittany.

'We sell at a loss even though it's supposed to be against the law.'

Mass rally: France's leading farmers' union FNSEA said they were expecting 1,733 tractors to attend

No profits: The union says many farmers are being forced to sell at a loss, despite it being illegal

Support: About 100 farmers are going to hand over their demands at the National Assembly on Thursday

A combination of factors, including changing dietary habits, slowing Chinese demand and a Russian embargo on Western products in response to sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, has pushed down prices for staples like beef, pork and milk.

'The prices are low. There are more and more rules. Rules are necessary but the prices don't follow the extra costs,' said Mathieu, a 20-year-old dairy farmer from the northern region of Picardie.

A delegation of some 100 farmers will go to France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, Thursday to hand over to lawmakers 'the demands and grievances of an agricultural and rural world that is on the brink of exploding and that expects a lot from its national representatives', a union representative said.

Many commuters took the advice of the police and used public transport instead of their cars on Thursday morning.

'There are not many traffic jams caused by the protesters. It's limited,' said a spokesman for the traffic information centre.

On the brink: The document lists 'the demands and grievances of an agricultural and rural world that is on the brink of exploding and that expects a lot from its national representatives', according to the union

Quiet streets: Commuters avoided using their cars on Thursday as the slow moving vehicles arrived. The sing on the tractor behind the one simply saying 'help' says 'I feed, I give employment and I am dying'

Cleaner: This is a far less smelly protest than ones over the summer, which saw protesting farmers dump manure in cities around the country

During the summer, protesting farmers dumped manure in cities around the country, blocked access to roads and motorways and prevented tourists from reaching the popular Mont St-Michel in northern France.

Farmers' unions have been negotiating with the government, which unveiled an emergency package worth 600million euros (£441million) in tax relief and loan guarantees in July.

But they say this is woefully inadequate, as tales of farms going under - and in the most extreme cases of suicides - hit the news.

The agriculture minister has estimated that around 10 percent of farms in France - approximately 22,000 sites - are on the brink of bankruptcy with a combined debt of one billion euros.