The farmers had warned: they wanted to block access to Paris from 2 p.m. this Friday, January 26. The first roadblocks were set up in the afternoon, notably on the A10, at the Saint-Arnoult tollbooth, a major route in the region. Other roads had also been closed as a precaution by the authorities. The A1 and A13 were also blocked.
However, shortly before 4 p.m., there were barely 80km of traffic jams in Île-de-France according to Sytadin, half as many as at this time in normal times. The disruptions having been announced and widely reported in the media, motorists had to abandon their journey. Many blockages are also held well upstream of the Ile-de-France region, not blocking internal traffic. Certain routes remain passable, notably the A4 towards Reims, the N2 towards Soissons and the N12 towards Dreux.
Be careful, however, because many roads, some very busy, are closed. This was the case for 400km of motorways this Friday at midday, including the entire A9, between Orange and Spain. The A7 south of Lyon, the A6 between Auxerre and Châlon-sur-Saône as well as the A31 between Nancy and Châlon-sur-Saône are also inaccessible.
The FNSEA announced a review clause at 8 p.m. this Friday, after Gabriel Attal’s announcements. “We are waiting patiently for the Prime Minister to tell us what is going on and we will communicate around 8 p.m. after having gathered to take stock together,” indicated its president Arnaud Rousseau. If they are not heard, he warns, farmers will be “galvanized”.