Watch live as protesting French farmers ‘besiege’ Paris by blocking major roads

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Watch live as protesting farmers “besiege” Paris on Monday 29 January by blocking all major highways with their tractors, demanding fair prices and loosened regulations.

Farmers in France, the European Union’s biggest agricultural producer, have complained of unfair competition from rivals in more lightly regulated countries.

Over the last week, they have set up roadblocks on motorways to highlight their cause.

They have also damaged property, including local government offices.

France stepped up security measures on Sunday as farmers prepared to converge on the capital as part of nationwide protests.

New prime minister Gabriel Attal sought but failed to defuse the movement last week with a series of pro-agriculture measures, which farmers said fell short of their demands that producing food be more lucrative, easier and fairer.

They responded with vows to converge from Monday afternoon with their tractors on major highways that serve Paris, to create what they described as a “siege of the capital” intended to squeeze more concessions from Mr Attal’s government.