Discontent among Europe's farming community has this week come to a head as protests gather momentum in France, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. In addition to national demonstrations, farmers are rolling into Brussels on Wednesday to take action in front of the European Parliament.

    With tactics largely focussed on roadblocks that have brought key routes to a halt, the sector calls attention to a deterioration in working conditions and remuneration. Farmers unions argue that the competing pressures of producing more whilst at the same time adhering to tighter environmental conditions are making their occupation near-impossible.

    Farmers across France are stepping up protests following the deaths of a farmer and her daughter who were killed on Tuesday when a vehicle drove into the roadblock they had put up as part of ongoing protests. They highlight issues surrounding environmental regulations and administrative permits, as well as the high cost of diesel fuel.

    The protest began in the Occitanie region in the south of the country on Thursday 18 January; it has since spread nationwide. "Actions will intensify on Wednesday," insisted the president of the FNSEA, the leading agricultural union, Arnaud Rousseau.

    Early Wednesday, at least 200 tractors took to the Bordeaux ring road — a vital link between Paris and Spain — disrupting traffic. According to the Hauts-de-France prefecture in the north of the country, "access to the various cross-Channel platforms may be hampered," specifically the Channel Tunnel and the port serving England.