26 January 2024 , 12:39
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Brits heading to France may find themselves swept up in widespread protests, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has warned.
The FCDO issued a new alert on Thursday evening due to ongoing protests in the country. French farmers have been blocking roads and dumping produce in protest against low prices and green regulations.
Snowballing protests crept closer to Paris on Thursday, with tractors driving in convoys and blocking roads in many regions of the country to ratchet up pressure for government measures to protect the influential agricultural sector from foreign competition, rising costs and what they have described as poverty-levels of pay for the worst-off producers.
Holidaymakers heading to France may want to bring a heavy duty raincoat due to the dirty nature of some of the protests. One supermarket was showered with a thick jet of pig slurry by furious campaigners.
Visitors to Paris may witness the protests (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The FCDO's new alert warns: "Protests by farmers have taken place across France. Since January, action has included blocking roads and delaying traffic."
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It advises travellers to keep an eye on the news, avoid protests, expect delays on major roads and follow local authority advice. Reports suggest that regional farming unions are calling on their members to converge on the capital, Paris. If they do, then it is likely that tourists will find themselves amid the protests.
Traffic-snarling drive-slows, barricades of straw bales, stinky dumps of agricultural waste outside government offices and other demonstrations have rapidly blown up. Roads hit Thursday morning by drive-slows included a highway west of the French capital.
“We are getting progressively closer to Paris,” farmer David Lavenant said to broadcaster BFM-TV.
Two agricultural unions called for farmers to converge on highways into the city on Friday to blockade it. Highway operator Vinci reported blockages on 14 of the motorways that it operates, as well as disruptions on others.
Protest leaders said farmers would closely scrutinise measures expected Friday from the government in response to their demands before deciding on next steps. In recent weeks, farmers have staged protests in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.
France is not the only country which has been the subject of an updated FCDO warning this month. It also updated its travel advice for those heading to the United Arab Emirates, urging them to "remain vigilant at all times" as the risk of a terrorist attack targeting UK citizens has "increased".
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