The al-Nabulsi Massacre, French Farmers, Maui Land-grab: They're Coming for Everything

When are folks going to understand it wont end with the Palestinians or the farmers or the Hawaiians living in Maui? They want it all and if we keep our heads tucked safely in the sand eventually they'll come for what you got. A rant.

Police arrest dozens at farmers' protest on Champs-Elysees in Paris

from Daily Sabah

At least 66 people were arrested on Friday at a farmers' protest on the Champs-Elysees in central Paris that blocked traffic during the morning rush hour, French police said.

Using tractors and bales of hay, farmers briefly brought traffic to a halt on the famed avenue near the Arc de Triomphe monument, only a short distance from President Emmanuel Macron's office, the Elysee.

The protesters, who held up banners on the avenue, said their action was aimed "at saving French agriculture."

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks over what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.

Farmer Axel Masson said about 100 of his peers had gathered at the arterial roundabout from 3 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT) "in a peaceful and law-abiding manner."..

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‘We feed the nation’: Indian farmers hit the streets on election eve. What do they want?

from RT

At 8am at the Shambhu border, a crossing between the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, Daya Singh, 35, fixed his blue headgear and prepared for a day-long sit-in to join hundreds of farmers protesting at the site to demand guaranteed minimum price for crops. Like hundreds of other farmers, he has been sleeping in his tractor trolley for the last five days after volunteering for different tasks at the protest.

“We are forced to hit the streets. we want protection for our crops,” Singh told RT.

This comes at a crucial juncture in India, as the general election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is expected to win a third term, is approaching in a few months. 

The farmers’ vote will have an impact. Agriculture employs around 58% of the country’s population and accounts for about 18.3% of India’s GDP at current prices. Its market size is estimated at $372.94 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $473.72 billion by 2029. India is the world’s second largest producer of wheat, rice, and sugar...

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French farmers plan ‘siege’ of Paris despite government concessions

 from Politico

The French government rushed to appease the country's farmers on Sunday in a last-ditch bid to prevent a major blockade of the French capital this week. But agriculture union leaders showed no signs of backing down from their ongoing protests over a range of grievances related to taxes, regulations and prices.

Freshly minted French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spent Sunday visiting a cattle farm in Indre-et-Loire, as Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau promised new measures would be unveiled as soon as Tuesday to address farmers’ concerns at both the EU and national level.

The ministers are trying to head off a promised “siege” of Paris by the farmers, with major roads around France already facing blockages.

Attal acknowledged Sunday that longstanding rules have been throwing “sticks in the wheels” and heaping new burdens on farmers over recent decades, and lamented that politics seemed to be pitting farmers against the environment. While he announced some concessions on Friday, Attal said he was well aware that the government had not yet addressed the issues at the root of the farmers’ grievances...

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French farmers block major motorways around Paris as dispute escalates

 from al Jazeera

French farmers have blocked major motorways around France with tractors in a standoff with the government over concerns about inflation and competition from cheap imports.

On Monday, farmers said they aimed to establish eight chokepoints on significant roads into Paris.

“We need answers,” said Karine Duc, a farmer in southwestern Lot-et-Garonne, as she joined a convoy of tractors heading for Paris.

“This is the final battle for farming. It’s a question of survival,” she told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

The government, which has been careful to avoid an escalation, has gradually dropped plans to reduce subsidies on agricultural diesel and promised to ease environmental regulations.

Paris has also said it would push its European Union peers to agree to ease regulations on fallow farmland.

Farmers must meet certain conditions to receive EU subsidies, including a requirement to devote 4 percent of farmland to “non-productive” areas where nature can recover...

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French farmers block motorways around Paris aheads of talks with PM

from France 24

Protests have been staged in recent weeks across France, a major agricultural producer, by farmers angry about shrinking incomes, red tape and environmental policies they say undermine their ability to compete with other countries. 

Protesting farmers blocked the A13 highway to the west of the capital, the A4 to the east and the A6, which saw hundreds of tractors rolling towards Paris from the south.

By mid-afternoon they appeared to have met their objective of establishing eight chokepoints on major roads into Paris, according to Sytadin, a traffic monitoring service.

A banner on one tractor in the protest read: "We will not die in silence."

"We need answers," said Karine Duc, a farmer in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department, as she joined a convoy of tractors heading for Paris.

"This is the final battle for farming. It's a question of survival," she told AFP...

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