Paris:
French President Emmanuel Macron spent all day Saturday at the annual agricultural fair as angry farmers heckled him and clashed with police.
Riot police kept demonstrators at a safe distance as Macron toured the fair, inspecting prize cattle, tasting honey from Normandy and cheeses from the Alps and shaking hands with exhibitors.
But as he entered the fair's livestock area in the morning, hundreds of protesters burst through the gates and clashed with police.
In the ensuing confusion, the fair was repeatedly closed and then reopened to the public.
Throughout the day, police and protesters pushed each other back and forth in chaotic scenes.
Police arrested six people and eight officers were injured in the violence, the head of the Paris defense force, Laurent Nunez, said on Saturday.
In a separate incident, farmers poured manure on the stand of dairy giant Lactalis, which they say did not pay enough for its milk.
“Who could have said this morning that 12 hours later we would still be working and making progress,” Macron said around 8 p.m.
“It is ridiculous that a small number of farmers are spreading violence at their own fair,” he added. He finally left around 9 p.m., 13 hours after he arrived.
Macron meets farmer leaders
While French presidents were often ridiculed at the annual fair, Saturday's scenes were a first. Farmer leaders had warned Macron that his visit to the 'Salon de l'Agriculture' – a fixture on the presidential calendar – would not go smoothly if the government did not keep its promises to meet their demands.
He had started the day at the fair with a two-hour meeting in the early morning with the leaders of the three main farmers' unions, the FNSEA, Jeunes Agriculteurs and Coördinatie Rurale.
Standing at a plastic table, with his jacket off and his shirt sleeves rolled up, the president listened to complaints about prices, red tape and state aid.
It was a step back from the major national debate he had originally planned before scrapping it after a row over who could be invited.
“I always prefer dialogue to confrontation,” Macron said. “I'm telling you that work is being done on site, we are in the process of simplifying things.”
Macron stressed that his government has made 62 commitments to meet farmers' demands, including promises of minimum prices for certain agricultural commodities.
The protesting farmers were not impressed.
“Did you hear him? He doesn't let us talk, he talks down to us. We want him to leave,” farmer Eric Labarre, a member of the FNSEA, told AFP.
FNSEA leader Arnaud Rousseau was more conciliatory. “There are some advancements that we are pleased with,” he told LCI Television.
Macron said he would meet farmers again in three weeks, after the stock market closes on March 3.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)