Paris feels impact of continued blockade of capital over low food prices as tractors and hay-bales blocked motorways in what some demonstrators have called the “Siege of Paris” who works at a wholesale fruit and vegetable firm with 12 staff supplying shops and restaurants in the city Deliveries are very difficult because of the roadblocks Around 40% of our vegetables haven’t been delivered today and it has been difficult since yesterday for both French and European produce Everyone is affected and it will continue like that for the coming days.” French police warned that about 1,000 farmers and 500 tractors were barricading roads across France and the protests could intensify this week over farmers’ demands for better prices for their produce and more government support The new prime minister, Gabriel Attal, told parliament on Tuesday that French farming is “our strength and pride”. He promised France would work to extend an exemption on EU fallow land rules and Paris would set up an emergency fund for struggling wine producers alongside other help for farmers But the farming crisis looked likely to continue all week Teachers and school support staff were to strike across France on Thursday amid calls for better pay and recruitment Police walk by tractors as farmers block the A20 highway on their way to Rungis wholesale food market Photograph: Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty ImagesSome farmers on the motorway barricades have spoken of “starving out Paris” in order to get government action on low prices for products said he was against any disruption of food distribution “Our objective is not to starve French people but to feed them,” he told the Europe 1 broadcaster About 200 southern farmers were on a tractor go-slow snaking through the country and hoping to reach Rungis – Europe’s largest fresh food market – but they had paused in central France on Tuesday morning after police diverted them The government and French police are seeking to stop any protests from reaching the vast food delivery bays of Rungis But the fact that hundreds more farmers and tractors continued to block key motorways on the outskirts of Paris and across France this week was already having an impact on food deliveries Amid massive public support for the farmers concern is growing that if road blockades intensify it could cause difficulties in the food supply chain this week Bakeries across France have been sending free croissants and baguettes to the barricades to support the farmers but many are concerned that if motorway blockades continue long-term it could have an impact on lorries delivering flour and ingredients that would affect businesses making bread Dominique Anract, a baker in western Paris, is president of the French confederation of Boulangerie and Pâtisserie as well as the European Federation of Bakers and the International Union of Bakers He said: “There are two ways this could really affect us bakeries don’t have much space to store ingredients So without deliveries of items such as flour for bread Most bakers take flour deliveries every week every time there are strikes or protest movements like this lots of people work from home because they can’t travel to work so bakery snacks and sandwiches see a big drop in sales Free newsletterA digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day Farmers take a lunch break on the A20 highway near Saint-Maur Photograph: Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty ImagesAnract said bakers supported the farmers “because they are our suppliers and we pay them well we pay a good price for their products … they supply us they feed France.” But he said at some point the government must find solutions for the crisis There were 40km (25 miles) of traffic jams around Paris by late morning on Tuesday as commuters were advised to carefully plan routes to avoid farmers who had shut key motorways From her desk at small family-run transport company south-east of Paris Tiffany was continuing to process orders for lorry deliveries and collections despite several hay-bale blockades outside Paris “We support the farmers’ blockades and their protest movement but we’ve got to keep working we’ve got to keep the country going,” she said The company’s four staff lived nearby and had been able to get into work and keep driving lorries Whereas protests by environmental protesters in recent months have seen an immediate response by riot police to dislodge them the farmers have been allowed to stay on motorway barricades as police monitor the situation has said he did not want to respond to farmers’ “suffering” by sending in riot police A test will be the police blocks stationed around Rungis and whether farmers attempt to reach the market this week This article was amended on 31 January 2024 An earlier picture caption misplaced the A20 highway near Saint-Maur as being “in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris” You guys know what's rad? Grassroots, DIY racing. You know what else is rad? Weird French cars What do you get when you mix the two together with a big ol' dash of early-70s Continental cool an insanely rad documentary about Citroën rallycross called Pop Cross You didn't think I was going to let you go without a history lesson, did you? 'Cause I'm not. Before you go, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my close personal friend, the The Citroën 2CV the quirky and iconic 2CV was first designed in the 1930s as a kind of French people's car—a way to get farmers off of horses and into motor vehicles rumor has it that one of the main design requirements of the car's weird shockingly competent suspension was that the car needed to be able to drive over a freshly plowed field with a basket of eggs on the seat without breaking any of those eggs Anyway, the outbreak of WWII put a stop to 2CV construction, but it popped up again in postwar France and turned out to be exactly what the beleaguered, war-weary nation needed in a car It was a masterpiece of minimalist design—cheap and you could fix it with a hammer in the event that it needed fixing (which wasn't that often) Think of it as the French equivalent of a Volkswagen Beetle 2CVs were produced for 42 years with very little in the way of upgrades or changes the engines ranged from 375ccs to 602ccs—all of them air-cooled boxers mated to four-speed gearboxes Citroën tried multiple times to replace the 2CV with models like the Dyan People loved that weird little utilitarian people mover and it took the full weight of modern market forces and tightening regulations to finally kill it The last Deux Chevaux rolled off a Portuguese production line on July 27 An unidentified Chinese buyer on Sunday paid a world record 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) for a female homing pigeon called New Kim online auctioneers Pigeon Paradise (PIPA) said The sale beat the 1.25 million euros paid for male pigeon Armando last year a well-bred two-year-old from a renowned Antwerp loft there has never been an officially documented sale at such a price," PIPA chairman Nikolaas Gyselbrecht told AFP "I didn't think we could reach that amount." New Kim won the 2018 crown as "Ace Pigeon Grand National Middle Distance" in competitions held at Chateauroux and Argenton-sur-Creuse in France Top European birds have won global fame in recent years and particularly in China where pigeon racing can generate huge winnings Wealthy buyers from the Gulf and Asia have forced up prices for champion birds for their instinctive ability to fly as many as hundreds of kilometres (miles) and still find their way back home Pigeon fancying is rooted in Belgian and Dutch life with the tradition spreading over to northern France The sport had been considered in decline until auctions started showing serious prices for potential champions and proven winners Gyselbrecht said Belgium alone counts 20,000 breeders for racing birds destined to take part in major competitions New Kim was trained by father and son Gaston and Kurt Van De Wouwer at their world-class loft in Berlaar They sold their entire "collection" of pigeons on Sunday This article is copyrighted by International Business Times, the business news leader All British citizens whose main home is in France have to fill in a French tax return But filling in a tax form can be difficult especially when it's written in a foreign language and uses a vocabulary that's not usually heard in everyday conversation.Châteauroux tax inspectors Paul Chatail and Eric Raimbault realised how much this was true when they organised an open day in 2005 especially from the English speaking community in the Indre there have been open days in tax offices in the department to help English speakers complete their French tax form there has been an open day in Le Blanc and La Châtre with another one organised for Tuesday 27th May at the « centre des impôts » in Argenton-sur-Creuse from 8 am to 12 and 1.30 to 4.30 pm.“ Some people come back every year ”For the last 3 years it's Marilyn Le Dren communications officer at the Châteauroux tax office « I studied English until I went to university,says Marilyn but my love of travelling and especially going to England has helped me to keep my English at a good level especially being able to help people.»In Marilyn's experience most of those who ask for help simply have difficulty in understanding their tax form they have started to do bed and breakfast and need to know how to enter their earnings « And some people come back every year,says Marilyn just to ask me to check that they have filled in everything correctly »Or maybe just to hear Marilyn's French accent.. 02.54.27.69.87.E-mail : stephen.coxfree.fr Those who have missed this year's English open days and need help with their tax return can still write to Marilyn in English or French at dsf.indre@dgi.finances.gouv.fr or contact her via their local tax office This year's deadline for submitting written tax forms is midnight on 30th May and 11th June for those using internet