French farmers blocked traffic on an avenue near the Arc de Triomphe by setting up barricades of tractors and hay bales near President Emmanuel Macron’s office at the Elysee Palace.
Outraged farmers at the protest said their action was “to save French agriculture”.
Farmer Axel Masson said about 100 of his colleagues had gathered at the roundabout since 3:00am (0200 GMT) “in a peaceful and law-abiding manner”.
AFP reporters said some of the protesters were handing out potato sacks to motorists stuck in the crawling traffic around the Arc de Triomphe. Some of them chatted with police officers before being arrested.
The farmers’ union said earlier in a statement on social media platform X, adding that it was a cry to “save” agriculture in France:
The Rural Coordination takes over the Arc de Triomphe symbolically and peacefully.
The statement said it “wants quick action to save 45 percent of our farms which are in financial distress”.
Masson said the farmers laid a wreath in memory of their colleagues who were driven to suicide by financial difficulties and he added:
The state has never heard us.
French farmers continue to draw the authorities’ attention to the plight of the agricultural sector by blocking roads, setting tyres on fire and laying siege to major supermarkets. Protesters say they need more action even after the government promised reforms.
Farmers across Europe have been out in mass protests for the first of the year against what they see as overly strict environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.
