First protests against high fuel prices emerge: who will join first?

Published on 11/05/2026 - 11:49 GMT+2

Around 50 farmers mobilised successful the Lyon portion connected Monday greeting pursuing a telephone by the Coordination Rurale national to protestation soaring substance costs linked to the situation successful the Middle East.

After staging a roadblock with astir 20 tractors adjacent a loading constituent astatine the TotalEnergies refinery successful Feyzin, demonstrators headed on the A7 motorway towards the Rhône prefecture nether constabulary escort.

By astir 10 a.m., the convoy had reached La Mulatière and was moving towards Lyon’s Confluence district, wherever important postulation disruptions were reported.

The protestation went up contempt a prefectural bid issued connected Sunday banning immoderate procession, march oregon objection successful the Feyzin and Édouard-Herriot larboard country connected Monday.

Authorities cited concern information concerns linked to the retention and transport of flammable and hazardous materials adjacent what the prefecture described arsenic “major infrastructures successful the hydrocarbon organisation chain”.

"Production is much costly than ever, and prices are not keeping pace".

The Coordination Rurale (CR), which organised the mobilisation, is demanding stronger authorities enactment successful effect to what it describes arsenic “exploding accumulation costs” and “unsustainable substance and non-road diesel (GNR) prices”.

“Production costs are higher than ever, and prices are not keeping pace,” the national said successful a statement, informing that workplace incomes were nether increasing pressure.

“We don’t privation to dice with our mouths open,” said Cédric Archer, co-president of Coordination Rurale Haute-Loire.

Mégane, a husbandman from Côtes-d’Arey quoted by AFP, said the terms of cultivation diesel had “almost doubled” since the commencement of the Middle East crisis.

“We thought the authorities would enactment america much during the harvest and sowing seasons, erstwhile diesel usage and tractor enactment are astatine their peak,” she said.

On 21 April, the French authorities unveiled €20 cardinal successful exigency enactment measures for struggling farmers, including a impermanent summation successful the GNR rebate to 15 cents per litre passim May.

The bundle besides includes deferred societal information and taxation payments, a “flash substance loan” for tiny and medium-sized farms, and the suspension of excise duties connected tractor substance successful April.

Agricultural diesel already benefits from preferential taxation that costs the French authorities astir €1 cardinal annually.

But farming unions accidental the measures autumn acold abbreviated of what is needed. The FNSEA, France’s largest farming union, is calling for substance assistance of 30 cents per litre.

“The strategy remains mostly inadequate,” FNSEA president Arnaud Rousseau said past Thursday. “GNR prices person risen by betwixt 60% and 80% for each farmers, portion the government’s targeting volition lone payment a minority.”