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France 'under tractor siege': Militant farmers block highways around Paris, Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse as they try to blockade major cities amid bitter standoff with Macron's government over wages

Albert Elence — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 20:33:24 +0000

Major French cities including Paris were under siege by militant farmers tonight as protests spread across Europe.

Armored cars and 5,000 extra police surrounded the French capital on Monday as a 'quasi-military' blockade went into action.

As night fell, some 1,500 tractors were lined up at six major intersections entering Paris as farm workers called for greater protection against rising costs and an end to the EU's green net-zero policy.

Protesting farmers began the operation by blocking the A13 highway west of the capital, the A4 in the east and the A6 on which hundreds of tractors traveled from the south towards Paris.

By mid-afternoon, they appeared to have achieved their goal of setting up eight bottlenecks on the main roads into Paris, according to Sytadin, a traffic control service.

People walk next to tractors on the A1 highway during a protest against price pressure, taxes and green regulations

Farmers block a highway in Argenteuil, north of Paris, on January 29, 2024

Dozens of tractors behind some tents to spend the night on the A-15 highway near Argenteuil, north of Paris

Farmers take part in the blockade of the M7 motorway in Pierre-Benite, near Lyon, central-eastern France

Another target was the Rungis International Market – nicknamed the 'belly of Paris' – which serves the majority of the capital's restaurants, cafes and supermarkets.

“This is a fight for our lives,” said Gilles Balland, who had traveled from his farm to the southwest of the country, close to the Spanish border.

'Farmers are committing suicide, and we are all struggling to stay afloat. It's the same everywhere,” Mr Balland said. “That is why this siege will last as long as necessary.”

And Stéphane Sanchez, director of the French agricultural union FNSEA, said “the siege of Paris” had been prepared with “quasi-military” precision.

There were similar sieges in other cities and towns, including Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse, where huge traffic jams occurred and food deliveries were cancelled.

Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau, in turn, called for “zero tolerance for violence and degradation” by farmers.

They have already been involved in criminal acts across France, including setting fire to foreign trucks and their products.

Supermarkets have also been raided by groups of militant farmers, who have stolen products from abroad and set them on fire outside the stores.

Mr Fesneau said criminal behavior was unacceptable and that a blockade of the city of Paris was largely futile.

A mannequin depicting French President Emmanuel Macron hangs next to tractors during a roadblock of the A6 highway near Villabe, south of Paris

An effigy hangs from a bridge as people gather at a blockade point on the A4 highway at Jossigny, near Paris

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that a security operation had been designed 'to prevent any blockage of Rungis and the airport'

“It is an act that ultimately punishes Parisians above all,” he said. 'I'm not sure if this blocks the entire Ile de France [greater Paris] will serve the interests of farmers.”

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that a security operation had been set up “to prevent any blockage of Rungis and the airport.”

“We will not allow government buildings, tax offices or supermarkets to be damaged or trucks carrying foreign products to be stopped,” he said.

Darmanin said the protests should also not affect Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, or the Rungis international wholesale food market south of the city.

The nationwide agricultural demonstrations have already resulted in two deaths: a car crashed into a roadblock last Tuesday, killing a woman and her teenage daughter and seriously injuring her husband.

President Emmanuel Macron has ordered Gabriel Attal, the country's new Prime Minister, to focus on suppressing a potential 'peasants' uprising' (A 'jacquerie' in French)

Walloon Minister for the Environment, Nature, Animal Welfare and Rural Renewal Celine Tellier flees from the scene of a farmers' protest at the Daussoulx junction

Farmers' protests across Europe are increasing as they demand better conditions to grow produce and maintain a good income

Some farmers already call themselves the Gilets Verts, which means green vests

He fears a new uprising in the style of the Yellow Vests, or Gilets Jaunes, which led to huge violent riots across the country against fuel tax increases from 2018 to 2020.

Some farmers already call themselves the Gilets Verts, which means green vests.

Farmer leaders said the government's responses so far have been inadequate.

“The prime minister has given us snacks, and now we would like him to work a little harder and give us more,” said Arnaud Lepoil, a member of the leading farmers' union FNSEA.

Arnaud Rousseau, the leader of the FNSEA, and Young Farmers union boss Arnaud Gaillot were expected to meet Attal later on Monday, sources told AFP.

“Our goal is not to irritate the French or make their lives difficult, but to put pressure on the government,” Rousseau told the RTL broadcaster.

Other groups have jumped on the protesting bandwagon. Earlier, about thirty activists from environmental group Greenpeace launched smoke grenades at Place de la Concorde in Paris, near the Champs-Elysees.

Farmer leaders said the government's responses so far have been inadequate

A grain farmer watches as French farmers block a highway with their tractors during a protest against price pressure, taxes and green regulations

A farmer stands at a barbecue while blocking a highway, Monday, January 29, 2024, in Argenteuil, north of Paris

They also unfurled a banner in support of the farmers before being led away by police.

Taxi drivers organized their own protest movement on Monday against what they say is insufficient reimbursement for the transport of patients by French health services.

Their go-slows caused even more disruption on the highways.

Similar agricultural disputes are taking place in other EU countries, with tractors on the move in Germany, Italy and Spain, among others.

In neighboring Belgium, farmers have stepped up their own campaign, and in recent weeks farmers' protests have also increased in Poland, Romania and the Netherlands.

The wave of protests came as British group Get Fair About Farming also said British farming is 'on its knees'.

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Court finds that Trudeau went too far by using the emergency law to end the blockade

Jeffrey Bailey — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 00:27:10 +0000

A Canadian court ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's use of the country's emergency law to end a truck convoy protest that paralyzed the capital Ottawa two years ago was an unjustified violation of civil rights, including the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. In some cases also freedom of expression.

The decision by the Federal Court of Canada also found that the freezing of bank accounts of people involved in the protest was also unjustified, but rejected arguments that the government had violated a variety of other rights, including those related to peaceful assembly.

The decision, which will be appealed, marked the first time a court has reprimanded Mr Trudeau over his handling of the protest, which began on January 28, 2022 and lasted for much of February, sparking copycat protests in other countries . provinces, including Alberta and British Columbia, as well as in France.

The protests in Ottawa, initially sparked by a Covid vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, made most streets in the city's center impassable, clogging them with parked trucks. Six days after Trudeau's government introduced emergency powers, a massive force of police officers from across the country finished clearing the streets. About 230 people were arrested during the protest.

In his ruling, Judge Richard G. Mosley wrote that while the protests “reflected an unacceptable disruption of public order,” the government failed to meet several tests for using the emergency law, which expanded police powers to include tow trucks forcing drivers to help clear the streets.

Judge Mosley said evidence from the two civil rights organizations that brought the lawsuit against the government convinced him that the “decision to issue the proclamation did not exhibit the hallmarks of reasonableness – justification, transparency and intelligibility – and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal limitations.”

“The harassment of residents, workers and business owners in downtown Ottawa and the general violation of the right to peaceful use of public spaces there, while deeply reprehensible, did not amount to serious violence or the threat of serious violence,” he wrote , noting that even a blockade where police said they found a weapons cache was resolved peacefully. “The damage done to Canada's economy, trade and commerce was very real and concerning, but did not constitute a threat or the use of serious force against persons or property.”

The court's ruling could be largely symbolic. It is unclear whether people affected by the Emergencies Act, including those who have had their bank accounts frozen, can file lawsuits against the government and receive compensation, said Ewa Krajewska, a civil litigator who argued on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. . And criminal prosecutions, which do not fall under the Emergency Act, will not be affected.

Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister, said the government would appeal the ruling.

“I want to take a moment to remind Canadians how serious the situation was in our country when we made that decision,” Ms. Freeland told reporters in Montreal.

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the conservative opposition who brought coffee and donuts to protesters during the blockade, condemned Mr. Trudeau on Xin which he wrote that he had 'violated the highest law of the land with the emergency law'.

He added that Mr. Trudeau “caused the crisis by sowing division among the people. He then violated Charter rights to illegally oppress citizens.” The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects the rights of freedom of expression and others, is part of the country's constitution.

“The invocation of the Emergencies Act is one of the worst examples of government overreach during the pandemic,” Joanna Baron, executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, said in a statement. The Calgary-based organization, which has supported libertarian causes, filed the lawsuit along with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and several people involved in the protest.

They successfully argued that the government should not have used the law and that it had violated Canadians' rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

But the decision largely rejected some of their other claims, including that the protesters' freedoms of assembly and travel and their rights to speech had been violated — although the judge did say that protesters who did not occupy the streets or disobey other laws were still allowed to exercise their rights. had rights. freedom of expression violated.

Speaking on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Ms. Krajewska said the group is “very pleased with a decision that provides a robust framework for when the law needs to be invoked in the future.” She added: “They think it's a victory for democracy and they think it's a victory for the rule of law.”

After receiving parliamentary approval, the government used the emergency measure for eight days before withdrawing it once Ottawa's streets were cleared.

Last February, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge reached a conclusion that contradicted Judge Mosley's findings while conducting a legally mandated public inquiry. That investigation concluded that the government was justified in using emergency powers to end the blockade, given the failure of police efforts and the lack of political coordination.

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Indian Railways cancels 20 trains on Indore-Ujjain route till December 30 due to mega blockade | View the full list here

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 10:13:51 +0000

Cancellation of IRCTC trains: The Indian Railways said that OF the total number of affected trains, four trains would be terminated and short-term terminated while 12 would be diverted.

News updates of train cancellations from Indian Railways

Latest news from Indian Railways: The Indian Railways on Friday said it has canceled and diverted several trains in Ratlam division due to a mega block taken up for track doubling between the Indore-Dewas-Ujjain section. The railways said that more than 20 trains will be affected due to the track doubling of the Indore-Ujjain section. These trains in particular have been canceled until December 30

Of the total number of trains affected, four trains each would be terminated and briefly terminated, while 12 would be diverted. According to the Railways, the doubling work of the route is in the final phase and the commissioning of the railway line and the rail link is underway.

Checklist of canceled trains

-Train number 09535 Mhow-Ratlam DEMU Special is canceled from December 15 to 30.

-Train number 09536 Ratlam-Mhow DEMU Special from December 15 to 30.

-Train number 09354 Indore Ujjain Passenger Special from December 15 to 30.

-Train number 09353 Ujjain Indore Passenger Special from December 15 to 30.

– Train number 18234 Bilaspur-Indore Express will be terminated briefly at Ujjain railway station from December 14 to 29 and will remain canceled between Ujjain and Indore.

– Train No. 18233 Indore-Bilaspur Express, from Indore, remains canceled between Indore and Ujjain from December 15 to December 30.

– Train No. 22983 Kota Indore Express from Kota will be briefly terminated at Maxi station from December 15 to 30 and will remain canceled between Maksi and Indore.

– Train No. 22984 Indore Kota Express remains canceled between Indore and Maxi.

Checklist of diverted trains

– Train number 12919 Mhow-Shrimata Vaishnodevi Katra Express will run via Laxmibainagar-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ujjain from December 15 to 30.

– Train No. 12920 Shrimata Vaishnodevi Katra Express will run from December 14 to 29 via Ujjain, Fatehabad and Laxmi Bainagar.

– Train No. 19344 Chhindwara -Indore Express will run via Ujjain, Fatehabad and Laxmi Bainagar from December 14 to 29.

– Train No. 19343 Indore Seoni Express from Indore will run via Laxmi Bainagar-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ujjain from December 15 to 30.

– Train number 20974 Rameshwaram Firozpur Express from Rameshwaram will run via Ujjain, Fatehabad, Chandravatiganj and Ratlam from December 19 to 26.

– Train number 20974 Rameshwaram Firozpur Express from Rameshwaram will run via Ujjain-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ratlam between December 19 and 26.

– Train No. 22941 Indore Udhampur Express will run via Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ratlam-Nagda from December 18 to 25.

– Train No. 19313 Indore Patna Express from Indore will run via Laxmibainagar-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ujjain from December 18 to 27.

– Train No. 19314 Patna Indore Express will run from December 15 to 29 via Ujjain-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Laxmi Bainagar.

– Train No. 19321 Indore Patna Express will run from December 16 to December 30 via Laxmibainagar-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj-Ujjain

-Train No. 19322 Patna Indore Express will run from December 18 to December 25 via Ujjain-Fatehabad Chandravatiganj- Laxmi Bainagar

-Train No. 19308 Indore Express will run via Ujjain-Fatehabad and Chandravatiganj-Laxmi Bainagar from December 15 to 29.

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Furious driver drags eco-protester off road before ramming others with his car and driving off through their blockade in Italy

Albert Elence — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:03:07 +0000

The unnamed driver was seen ramming the protesters before driving away
He towed one of them along the Rome-Civitavecchia highway in Italy

By Perkin Amalaraj

Published: 06:02 EST, December 5, 2023 | Updated: 06:52 EST, December 5, 2023

This is the moment an irate driver ripped an eco-warrior out of his car before driving several more and driving away.

The driver of a purple BMW angrily got out of his car and walked towards several members of the Italian activist group Last Generation, who blocked the Rome-Civitavecchia highway near Torrimpietra yesterday morning.

The protesters, dressed in high-vis jackets and carrying large signs, had blocked off the dual carriageway to lobby for a “recovery fund” and glued themselves to the concrete.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that dozens of people were stuck in the blockade that prevented drivers from driving towards Rome from Civitavecchia. This blockade lasted for forty minutes.

The driver of the BMW was seen dragging a male protester from his car. But the other demonstrators were undeterred, and shortly afterwards several are standing in front of his car.

The driver of the BMW was seen dragging a male protester from his car

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that dozens were stuck in the blockade that prevented drivers from heading towards Rome from Civitavecchia.

Italian media reported that no one was seriously injured during the incident, and that police later arrived and removed the protesters

The driver then drives forward twice, apparently in an attempt to get the protesters to back up.

But after more join them, the driver decides to cut through the crowd and drive away.

Italian media reported that no one was seriously injured during the incident, and that police later arrived and removed the protesters.

Environmentalists have stepped up their protest efforts around the world. In Britain, police officers have made 630 climate arrests as eco-fanatics unleash weeks of disruption – with ‘group die-ins’ taking place on the streets of London.

Scotland Yard said 630 arrests of Just Stop Oil protesters have been made since October 30, and 328 have been charged. The rest have been released on police bail.

A JSO activist lies at an intersection near Earl’s Court as police try to move her

Officers are using new powers to carry out the mass arrests under anti-protest legislation, which bans any action that ‘disrupts the use or operation of any major national infrastructure’.

Nearly half of last month’s ‘climate arrests’ fell under this new legislation – section seven of the Public Order Act 2023.

According to Just Stop Oil, more than 470 eco-activists have been arrested – some more than once.

Data collected by the group shows at least 276 people have been charged. At least 125 were charged with blocking major national infrastructure under section seven, and 125 with willful obstruction of the highway.

It comes after JSO protesters staged a ‘die-in’ in London, making themselves limp and limp, making it harder for police to move them.

During their 30-day campaign of disruption on an ‘unprecedented scale’, the activists employed this new tactic.

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Trade unions in Sweden extend the blockade against Tesla

Jeffrey Bailey — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:29:30 +0000

Tesla in Sweden: No production but a lot of sales.

Tesla does not produce vehicles in Sweden, but operates several facilities where the cars are maintained. So far this year, the Tesla Model Y is the best-selling new car in Sweden, with more than 14,000 registrations through October, according to Mobility Sweden, an industry group.

At the start of the mechanics’ strike, a Tesla representative told Swedish media that the company was following the country’s labor law and chose not to sign a collective agreement. The company said it would do everything it could to keep its operations running.

Quotable: ‘It is important and self-evident that we help.’

The Swedish Transport Workers’ Union, whose members work in Sweden’s ports, said in a statement that “it is both important and self-evident that we help, to stand up for the collective agreement and the Swedish labor market model.”

How it started: Tesla mechanics went on strike on October 27.

In late October, IF Metall, which represents 300,000 workers, including some Tesla mechanics, said in Sweden that talks with company representatives had ended without a solution. The union began strike action at Tesla’s twelve service centers on October 27.

Dock workers initially refused to unload Teslas at four major Swedish ports from November 7, which was expanded to Friday 55 ports.

Unions representing cleaners have also refused to service Tesla facilities, and the postal workers’ union prevented all deliveries from reaching the company’s sites.

Both IF Metall and the Transport Workers unions have acknowledged that Tesla has found ways around the strikes. Tesla appeared to be bringing in other mechanics to staff its facilities and deliver new vehicles to Sweden by truck, they said.

The strike efforts are also being hampered by some union members working for Tesla refusing to participate, Swedish media reported.

What other unions are saying: Germans have expressed their support.

In Germany, where Tesla produces the Model Y at a massive factory outside Berlin, union leaders have tried to organize the roughly 11,500 workers who work there. Tesla management has had no relations with the German car union IG Metall. Last month, several hundred workers wore union stickers calling for “safe and fair work.”

Dirk Schulze, the regional head of IG Metall in Brandenburg, where Tesla has its factory, has expressed solidarity with striking workers in Sweden. The strike in Sweden has given workers in Germany “the courage and confidence to organize themselves into a union and take their destiny into their own hands,” Schulze said in a statement.

The association has not yet announced any further measures.

What happens next: More strikes are planned in Sweden.

This week, IF Metall said that 50 of its members at Hydro Extrusions, a company that produces an aluminum part for Tesla, would leave their jobs next Friday.

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Blockade Australia protester Port of Newcastle

Albert Elence — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 22:25:21 +0000

Chaos as nose-ringed climate activist blocks one of Australia’s main coal terminals: ‘OK, the police are here’

Protester blocks loading terminal at Newcastle Port
Police officers have been sent to the port

By Brett Lackey for Daily Mail Australia

published: 5:59 PM EDT, Jun 18, 2023 | Updated: 6:22 PM EDT, Jun 18, 2023

A climate change activist blocks a coal loading terminal at one of the world’s largest coal ports.

The protester, believed to be associated with Blockade Australia, has been hanged from a railway bridge in Newcastle Harbour.

Trains carrying coal are prevented from crossing the railway bridge by the woman’s protest.

Blockade Australia said the protest at the Kooragang Island terminals in the Port of Newcastle “blocks all trains at the main economic bottleneck of the world’s coal industry”.

“This is a coordinated response to Australia’s destruction of the global climate,” the group said.

The woman appears to be dangling from the bridge using abseiling equipment.

“I’m doing this to show that we are not powerless,” the woman said in a live stream during the protest on Monday morning.

“Okay, the police are here…they’re coming to me, so I’m going to climb up and lock down.”

“Pretty scary…could take a while after this as the adrenaline drops…But also empowering.”

More to follow.

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The hard right agrees to allow house votes, but threatens continued blockade

Sabir Ansary — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:27:06 +0000

Hard-right House Republicans agreed late Monday to give their party leaders a temporary reprieve from a week-long blockade of the House floor, allowing some legislative business to proceed Tuesday, but insisting they withhold their support from future votes if their demands were not met.

The move counted as progress for Speaker Kevin McCarthy after days of paralysis in the House that showed his tenuous grip on his awkward conference despite anger from right-wing Republicans over the deal he struck with President Biden to suspend the debt limit. and avoid federal bankruptcy. But the agreement was only tentative, and the group of about a dozen ultra-conservative lawmakers who held the floor hostage made it clear they intended to continue using guerrilla tactics to try to get Mr. manage to achieve.

The House was silent on Monday evening after Mr McCarthy canceled scheduled votes. But under a deal he reached with right-wing members of the House Freedom Caucus, things would resume Tuesday with votes on legislation to guard against restrictions on gas stoves and other government regulations, as well as a separate bill to introduce tougher federal rules on stabilizing pistols. brackets, according to people familiar with the discussions that talked about it on the condition of anonymity.

In talks on Monday, the people said, members of the rebel group explicitly told Mr McCarthy that he couldn’t count on their support to bring forward any other legislation next week or in the future until they worked out a power-sharing deal. agreement that guaranteed them a major influence on the legislative agenda.

Last week marked the first time in two decades that members of the majority party in the House sided with the party to lose power to defeat a rule, a procedural vote normally considered routine and almost always passed. decided along party lines with unanimous majority support. The move meant that Mr McCarthy was left, at least temporarily, as speaker only in name, with no governing majority behind him. In talks with GOP leadership on Monday, the rebels made it clear they intended to make it a habit.

Still, some of the 11 Freedom Caucus members emerged from talks in Mr McCarthy’s office on Monday and said they would support the rule they helped defeat last week – to call for regulatory action – as long as it was amended to the pro-gun legislation championed by conservative Republicans.

Mr McCarthy called the meetings “productive” but admitted more talks would be needed to reach a resolution.

“We know that when we work together and work on conservative issues, we were winning and getting more victories that way,” he told reporters at the Capitol on Monday night. “And I think everyone wants to go back to that place.”

Mr McCarthy said there seemed to be a “willingness” to work out differences but admitted that “doesn’t mean it’s all tied together. It means we thought that meeting was great so we’re putting in others each other.

Earlier in the day, Mr McCarthy said he was willing to hold the House on hiatus for a few more days if it meant Republicans could “fix the problem so it doesn’t keep blowing up”.

But the resolution reached Monday didn’t seem like a long-term solution, and it wasn’t clear what such a solution would look like. Hard-right Republicans are pushing for spending caps lower than what Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Biden agreed to in the debt ceiling bill, among other things.

The feud erupted last week in response to the compromise Mr McCarthy struck with Mr Biden to suspend the debt limit, which contained only a fraction of the cuts the Republicans had demanded. The deal enraged ultra-conservative Republicans who claim Mr McCarthy betrayed promises he made to them during his run for the speakership.

The uprising effectively shut down the House last week and talks to resolve the deadlock dragged on until Monday.

The impact of the uprising was low for now: The GOP insurgents managed only to push through their own party’s messaging bills, which have no chance of passing a Democratic-controlled senate. But it served as a reminder of the difficulty the speaker could have later when he needs to get his conference together to pass crucial spending bills, which will be needed to avoid a government shutdown this fall and punitive austerity in early 2025. to prevent.

It was also reminiscent of the paralysis that gripped the House in January, when some of the same instigators of the current drama refused to support Mr McCarthy as speaker, leading to a historic 15-round election that undermined the outrageous influence of a small group of right-wing legislators in a narrow Republican majority.

Carl Hulse reporting contributed.

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