French farmers drive 350 tractors to Parliament to protest low incomes and EU trade deal

(13 Jan 2026)
RESTRICITON SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 13 January 2026
1. Various of farmers and tractors gathered outside French National Assembly
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Samuel Vandaele, Regional farmers union representative:
"The real issue is about simplification. In fact, in France, we have even initiated simplification shocks on our operations. I'm not saying that nothing has changed. I see it through the European Agriculture Programme. Some lines have moved and been simplified. But every time we launched a simplification shock, we ended up with more regulations and additional burdens. I'll give you a typical example, and it's a European issue, regarding a phytosanitary register where the farmer must record all their practices. This is already the case, but now it must be done digitally. It was announced that it was postponed by a year. However, in the fine print, it was done on December 24th, if I recall correctly. In the fine print, we find out there are 17 additional directives. Yes, it was postponed by a year, but we still added 17 booklets that farmers will have to fill out additionally. At some point, this is not serious."
3. Various of farmers union reps during speeches
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Samuel Vandaele, Regional farmers union representative:
"Production costs today, a typical example since the war in Ukraine and thus the entry of all these commodities and products, the price of wheat has dropped from €220 to €160 ($257 to $187), while our production costs to produce a ton of wheat are €220 ($257), meaning that roughly speaking, today, we are losing between €60 ($70) and €80 ($93) per ton compared to our production costs. We need to lighten regulations and charges to regain competitiveness. But we also need to be able to be serious. The war effort is important, yes, but not at any cost, not at the expense of our farmers, our agriculture, and our food sovereignty."
5. Various of farmers and tractors gathered outside French National Assembly
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Samuel Vandaele, Regional farmers union representative:
"(The) Mercosur (free trade deal) today will be addressed in Brussels despite what the President of the Republic said, so I'll spare you the hesitations. One moment yes, one moment no, one moment maybe – he eventually said no, France has said no. That's why we consider this issue to be a European matter, that the war is not lost. It's going to be very complicated, very, very complicated, but we are mobilizing, we are in direct contact with all our European unions, the equivalent of the FNSEA (Fédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles - an umbrella union organization) and young farmers at the European level, to decide and ensure that all the unions approach their MEPs to vote on this motion."
7. Various of farmers with bales of hay and flares
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Charlotte Vassant, 51, vegetable and cereal farmer:
"Today, one in five farms is inspected each year. And there are no checks on products imported into the Aisne region from foreign countries, where they raise the standards to allow practices that are illegal. For example, Canadian lentils, which are harvested and dried in the field with glyphosate, a practice that has been banned for years, are allowed. They have increased the permissible limit because otherwise, they couldn't enter Europe."
9. Union flags and tractors
10. Tractor with sign reading (French): "Let's eat French products"
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Charlotte Vassant, 51, vegetable and cereal farmer:
12. Various of police and farmers outside National Assembly
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