A Foreign Office travel alert for France has been triggered as farmers used tractors to block main roads into Paris as part of a nationwide protest.
More than 1,000 tractors were reported to be blocking strategic motorways around the French capital with farmers voicing a determination to maintain a stranglehold on the city indefinitely.
Roadblocks were set up on eight motorways around Paris on Monday, in what farming unions described as a “siege of Paris”.
The direct action is being taken in an escalating row with the French government over prices paid for their produce, red tape and a demand for fewer environmental constraints.
At last 37 other roadblocks across the country were also reported to have been established by farmers.
The Foreign Office said in updated travel advice issued on Monday afternoon: “Since mid-January, protests by farmers have taken place across France.
“Action has included blocking major roads and delaying traffic, including on the edges of large cities.
“Monitor the media, avoid protests, expect delays on some major roads and follow the advice of the authorities.”