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THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE STIFFENS AS 15,000 POLICE ARE DEPLOYED TO PROTECT THE CAPITAL The French farmer protest is intensifying around Lyon and Paris, as the Interior Minister orders 15,000

police to prevent their entry into the capital. Farmers have been protesting since January 20 using parked tractors and bales of straw to create roadblocks on motorways around the country,

while in other places they are deliberately slowing traffic with rolling barricades. READ MORE: SEE: SUPPORT FOR FRENCH FARMER PROTESTS HIGHER THAN FOR GILETS JAUNES They began to converge

around Paris on Friday (January 26), with the intention of “blockading the capital”, according to farmers’ union FNSEA. However, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the deployment of

15,000 police and gendarmerie along with armoured vehicles and helicopters to prevent disruption. Mr Darmanin called the farmers’ entry into the capital a “red line”. The Interior Minister

had previously declared that he “would like to support them politically” on January 28. Travellers should anticipate severe delays on motorways around the country, even if farmers’ protests

are not announced for the area, as farmers from many regions are expected to drive their tractors to the capital. No delays have been announced at the ports, however farmers have declared

their intention to block traffic around Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. WHERE ARE THE FARMERS’ BARRICADES ON JANUARY 29? REGION ROADS WHERE TYPE AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES Around Lyon Rhône Roadblocks

A450 From Monts du Lyonnais, Loire/Rhône Rolling barricades A450 Oullins-Pierre-Bénite, Rhône Roadblock A7 Around Lyon Rolling barricades A47 Around Lyon Rolling barricades A43

Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, Rhône Roadblock A6 Villefranche-sur-Saône-Limas, Rhône Roadblock A480 Isère Roadblock A7 Isère Roadblock A48 Isère Roadblock A43 Isère Roadblock BRITTANY N165

Quimper, Finistère Roadblock N164 Carhaix, Finistère Roadblock N165 La Roche-Bernard, Morbihan Roadblock BOURGOGNE-FRANCHE-COMTÉ A77 Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, Nièvre Roadblock GRAND-EST N58

Between Sedan (Marne) and Bouillon (Belgium Roadblock HAUTS-DE-FRANCE Around Amiens Somme Roadblocks, rolling barricades A16 Between exits 11 and 16, Oise Roadblocks A1 Between exits 11 and

6 A16 Oise Rolling barricades A1 Oise Rolling barricades A16 Between Etaples, Wailly-Beaucamp and Isques, Pas de Calais Roadblocks ILE-DE-FRANCE A1 Chennevières services, Val-d'Oise

Roadblock A4 Jossigny, Seine-et-Marne Roadblock A5 Ourdy, Seine-et-Marne, Roadblock A6 Villabé, Essonne Roadblock A10 Longivilliers, Yvelines Roadblock A12 Access to Paris Roadblock A13

Buchelay, Yvelines Roadblock A15 Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine Roadblock A16 Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise Roadblock NORMANDY A13 Between Gaillon and Vernon, Eure Roadblock NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE

From Dordogne To Rugnis, Val-de-Marne Rolling barricades OCCITANIE A9 Nimes , Gard Roadblock Toulouse-Blagnac Airport Haute-Garonne Roadblock PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D'AZUR A50

Bouches-du-Rhône Rolling barricades A7 Bouches-du-Rhône Rolling barricades A55 Bouches-du-Rhône Rolling barricades Marseille town centre Bouches-du-Rhône Protest, rolling barricades A8,

Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône Roadblock A51 At A8 junction, Bouches-du-Rhône Roadblock HOW IS THE GOVERNMENT REACTING? Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a series of measures aimed to

satisfy many of the farmers’ demands on Friday (January 26), including: * Eliminating the planned increases to the agricultural diesel tax * Increasing sanctions against companies that

circumvent the EGAlim law, which is intended to ensure farmers are paid fairly * Opposing the European Mercosur accord with South American companies for food imports * €50 in aid for farmers

whose livestock were affected by the Epizootic hemorrhagic disease * Unspecified measures to simplify the rules and regulations that affect farmers. READ ALSO: WILL €3.5BILLION PLEDGE BE

ENOUGH TO SECURE FUTURE OF FRENCH FARMING? ARE THE PROTESTS LOSING MOMENTUM? The government’s concessions along with its stiffening response to the protest has begun to cause the number of

blockades to decrease. The 400 km long closure of the A7 and A9 in the south of France has dissipated, as have many other local protests. Nonetheless, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told_

FRANCEINFO_that this might be a “difficult week”. The remaining farmers are converging on Paris amid mounting evidence of CONVERGENCES WITH OTHER DISGRUNTLED UNIONS. Taxi drivers, in

particular, are on strike, slowing traffic in Bordeaux, Toulon, Lyon, Lille, Tours, Marseille and Nice with rolling barricades. On motorways in the Paris area, taxi drivers can now be seen

parked alongside the farmers’ tractors in their ‘blockade’ of the capital. READ MORE WHY FRENCH VILLAGE AND TOWN ROAD SIGNS ARE BEING TURNED UPSIDE DOWN?