ANGRY farmers were back in Paris on their tractors today in a new protest demanding more government support and simpler regulations, on the eve of a major agricultural fair in the French capital.

Dozens of tractors drove into a neighbourhood on the capital’s west side carrying flags from Rural Co-ordination, the farmers’ union that staged the protest. 

The latest protest comes three weeks after farmers lifted roadblocks around Paris and elsewhere after the government offered over €400 million (around £341m) to address their grievances over low earnings, heavy regulation and what they describe as unfair competition from abroad.

French farmers’ actions are part of a broader protest movement in Europe over farm input costs, produce prices and regulations on environmental practices, tax and subsidies.

Farmers complain that the 27-nation bloc’s environmental policies, such as the Green Deal, which calls for limits on the use of chemicals and on greenhouse gas emissions, make their products more expensive than non-EU imports.

Government officials have held a series of meetings with farmers unions in recent weeks to discuss a new Bill meant to defend France’s “agricultural sovereignty.”

The Paris Agricultural Fair is one of the world’s largest farm fairs, drawing crowds every year.